Afghanistan Women’s Movement Network Condemns Aisha Wahab’s Position on Relations with the Taliban

Sent to ZAN TV

The Afghanistan Women’s Movement Network has condemned remarks by Aisha Wahab, the Afghan-American congresswoman-elect, on the need to continue diplomacy and maintain relations with Afghanistan “regardless of which group is in power”, saying that moving towards formal relations with the Taliban under current conditions would contribute to the normalisation of the repression of women.

Members of the network, through a resolution and a protest action, said that any move towards formal relations with the Taliban, without changes in the situation of women’s rights, would give the group political credibility.

The network’s resolution states: “Being of Afghan descent does not give anyone the privilege of representing Afghan women, and holding political office is not a licence to bargain over their suffering.”

Members of the Afghanistan Women’s Movement Network said they do not consider Wahab’s position representative of the views of Afghan women and stressed that being of Afghan descent alone does not give anyone the authority to speak on behalf of the country’s women.

The network also said that Aisha Wahab has not lived in Afghanistan for years and has not directly experienced what women under Taliban rule have faced, including bans on education and work, restrictions on movement and the suppression of protests.

One section of the resolution addressed to Wahab states: “You have the right to hold your own political views, but you have no right to sell them in the name of Afghan women.”

The Afghanistan Women’s Movement Network described formal relations with the Taliban under current conditions as the “normalisation of repression” and the granting of political concessions to the group. It said it would not remain silent in the face of efforts that, in the view of its members, could lead to the legitimisation of the Taliban.

The reaction followed remarks by Aisha Wahab in an interview with “Democracy Now!” on Monday (24 August). In the interview, Wahab criticised Taliban restrictions on women and girls and said preventing them from accessing education and living normal lives could be “catastrophic” for Afghanistan’s future.

At the same time, however, she said the United States should pursue diplomacy and maintain relations with Afghanistan “regardless of which group is in power”. Wahab said such engagement could be used to push Afghanistan’s rulers towards respecting human rights, women’s rights and civil rights. She also spoke about economic cooperation and agreements related to Afghanistan’s resources.

The reaction comes as the Taliban have, over the past five years, barred women and girls from secondary and university education and imposed widespread restrictions on work, freedom of movement and participation in public life.

Critics of Wahab’s remarks consider her emphasis on continued diplomacy and maintaining relations with Afghanistan under Taliban rule concerning, saying that such an approach, without clear guarantees for women’s rights, could contribute to the normalisation of relations with the Taliban.