“There will be women among Taliban delegation members in the Doha, Qatar meeting,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman, said by telephone. The Taliban have maintained their rejection of formal talks with the Afghan government, which they dismiss as a “puppet” regime controlled by the United States. However Taliban spokesmen say the group has changed and it encourages girls’ education and other women’s rights within an Islamic Sharia system. Civil society groups, the Western-backed government and Afghanistan’s international partners have pressed for women to take part in the talks and news of the Taliban delegation was welcomed. “Only women can feel the pain and miseries that Afghan women have suffered.

Source: The Express Tribune April 15, 2019 18:22 UTC