Criticism Over Exclusion of Women from the Third Doha Meeting; Shaharzad Akbar: This is Shameful

Last night (June 24), Ms. Akbar reacted to this issue by posting a message on her X account, questioning what the third Doha meeting will do about the millions of girls deprived of education in Afghanistan.

She added, "It is truly shameful that the United Nations and an accidental theocratic regime [the Taliban] decide to exclude Afghan women from an international meeting on Afghanistan."

It is worth mentioning that with the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, millions of girls have been deprived of education. Meanwhile, the exclusion of women and civil society representatives from Afghanistan from the third Doha meeting has faced severe criticism from human rights organizations.

Previously, Human Rights Watch stated that despite the severe suppression of women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the United Nations intends to hold a meeting without having women's rights on the agenda.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, also said that if the Doha meeting does not adequately address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan and does not include women human rights defenders and other civil society stakeholders, it will lose its legitimacy.

This comes as the third Doha meeting, hosted by the United Nations and attended by special representatives of countries on Afghan affairs and Taliban representatives, is scheduled to take place on June 30 and July 1.