The Guardian: Europe’s Meeting With the Taliban Sparks Anger Among Afghan Women

Image: © Stringer / Reuters

The Guardian has reported that a recent meeting between European Union officials and a Taliban delegation in Brussels to discuss the return of Afghan migrants has sparked widespread anger among Afghan women and human rights activists.

The newspaper wrote on Thursday (25 June) that a number of Afghan women described the meeting as “a slap in the face of Afghan women”. According to them, by seating Taliban representatives at the negotiating table, Europe is giving legitimacy to a group that has deprived women of their most basic rights.

The report said Afghan women view the move as Europe’s disregard for their five years of suffering. They say that by holding talks with the Taliban, the European Union is ignoring the deprivation of Afghan women from their most basic rights.

The meeting was held on Tuesday in Brussels after 20 EU member states called for mechanisms to return Afghan citizens who do not have legal residency.

European officials have said that talks with the Taliban are focused on individuals described as a “security threat” to Europe.

However, The Guardian wrote that the invitation letter to Taliban officials referred to Afghans who do not have the legal right to stay in the European Union, an issue that critics say points to a much broader scope of deportations.

Human rights activists see the meeting as part of Europe’s increasingly strict migration policies. They have warned that talks with the Taliban, even if described as “technical”, could lead to the normalisation of relations with the group and weaken human rights pressure on the Taliban.

According to EU figures cited by The Guardian, member states received around one million asylum applications from Afghan citizens between 2013 and 2024, and nearly half of those applications were accepted.

Meanwhile, the United Nations had previously reported that some Afghans returned to Afghanistan had faced arbitrary detention, torture and ill treatment. Human rights activists say returning Afghans to a country facing a human rights and humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule could endanger many lives.

European Union officials have emphasised that the meeting does not amount to recognition of the Taliban. However, critics say issuing visas, hosting a meeting in Brussels and holding talks with Taliban representatives in practice gives the group political credibility.

These concerns come as the Taliban have deprived women and girls in Afghanistan of education, work, freedom of movement and broad participation in public life. Women’s rights activists say any engagement with the Taliban without human rights conditions, particularly on the rights of women and girls, could normalise the repression of women in Afghanistan.