Kabul
\nA group of Afghan women protested in Kabul on Saturday, defying a crackdown on dissent to urge foreign nations not to formally recognise the Taliban government ahead of a UN summit next week. Protesters opposing creeping curbs on women\u2019s rights have been beaten or detained since the Taliban surged back to power in 2021 and security forces have fired into the air to disperse some rallies.
\nHowever, small groups of women have continued to stage sporadic gatherings.
\nAround 25 women marched through a residential area in the Afghan capital on Saturday ahead of a summit in Doha that the United Nations says will discuss a \u201cdurable way forward\u201d for the country.
\n\u201cRecognition of Taliban \u2014 violation of women\u2019s rights,\u201d the women chanted during the march, which lasted no longer than 10 minutes and passed without confrontation with security forces.
\nOther chants included \u201cAfghan people, hostages of Taliban\u201d and \u201cWe will fight, we will die, we will take our rights\u201d.
\nNo nation has yet acknowledged the government as legitimate since the Taliban returned to power after US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
\nA previous Taliban government that ruled from 1996 to 2001 was only granted formal recognition by Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
\nDiplomats, NGOs and aid agencies are deeply divided over the issue.
\nSome believe the international community might cajole Taliban authorities into reversing curbs on women\u2019s rights by dangling the prospect of recognition.
\nOthers say even discussing it grants the Taliban government some legitimacy at a time when they are squeezing women out of public life.
\nUN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said last week the Doha meeting starting on Monday could see envoys discuss \u201cbaby steps\u201d on a path to recognition, albeit with conditions.
\n\u201cThere are some who believe this can never happen. There are others that say, well, it has to happen,\u201d Mohammed said in a talk at Princeton University.
\n\u201cThe Taliban clearly want recognition \u2026 and that\u2019s the leverage we have.\u201d
\nThe United Nations has announced that the \u201cde facto authorities\u201d of Afghanistan have not been invited to the Doha conference.
\n\u201cRecognition is not an issue,\u201d a spokesman for the world body said on Friday.
\nProtester Shamail Tawana Nasiri, 26, told AFP that any discussion of formal recognition \u201cwill give the Taliban motivation\u201d.
\n\u201cFor those of us who are oppressed, and our rights taken away, it increases our concerns,\u201d she said.
\nThe United Nations will also provide an update on aid operations, which have been hampered by a Taliban government order barring Afghan women from working for the world body, at Monday\u2019s meeting.
\nIt has said it faces an \u201cappalling choice\u201d over whether to maintain its huge operation in the country of 38 million people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kabul A group of Afghan women protested in Kabul on Saturday, defying a crackdown on dissent to urge foreign nations not to formally recognise the Taliban government ahead of a UN summit next week. Protesters opposing creeping curbs on women\u2019s rights have been beaten or detained since the Taliban surged back to power in 2021 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-328541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n