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Indonesia says women's rights advocacy should remain a priority in Afghanistan
The international community should focus on advocating for women's rights in Afghanistan, Indonesia has said at a United Nations-sponsored conference on Afghanistan aimed at improving dialogue with the country's Taliban rulers.
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Afghan women stage a protest for their rights at a beauty salon in the Shahr-e-Naw area of Kabul on July 19, 2023. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities had ordered beauty parlors across the country to shut within a month. (AFP/-)
T
he international community should focus on advocating for women's rights in Afghanistan, Indonesia said on Monday at a United Nations-sponsored conference on Afghanistan aimed at improving dialogue with the country's Taliban rulers.
Speaking after the two-day Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, which ended on Monday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that since the Taliban had come into power in August 2021, they had issued at least 50 edicts that undermined women's rights.
"Indonesia advises [the international community] to prioritize women's rights issues in its engagement with the Taliban. It's important for the UN to continue working together with the Islamic Cooperation Organization [OKI] to address the matter," she said in a press statement.
Retno added that Indonesia had been making efforts to support Afghan women, including by providing humanitarian aid, vaccines, mobile clinics, scholarships and training on financial literacy. Indonesia is also planning to help develop school curricula in the Taliban-led country.
Indonesia has been a strong supporter of Afghan women’s rights, regularly attending and hosting dialogues with key countries to funnel support into the marginalized population.
Read also: Indonesia urges concrete support for Afghan women
Since the Taliban retook power in 2021, they have ordered women to cover up when leaving home, stopped girls and women from attending high school and university and banned them from parks, gyms and public baths. They have also barred women from working, causing a loss of around US$1 billion to the country's economy, according to the UN estimate.
