Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society under Taliban control and a senior member of the group's negotiating team in Doha, has stated that the issue of women was not mentioned in the peace agreement with the United States.
In an interview with Shamshad TV, Delawar said that throughout the entire text of the Doha Agreement, from beginning to end, the word "woman" was not used even once. He attributed this to cultural sensitivities, adding, "Pashtuns and Afghans are so strict on the issue of women that they do not take the name of a woman in meetings; how could we have raised this issue with the Americans?"
In another part of the interview, the Taliban official defended the ban on girls' education beyond the sixth grade. He emphasized that this ban was issued based on an order from the Taliban's leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and will remain in effect until a "second order" or subsequent command.
Delawar's new statements are in stark contrast to his previous positions. During the Doha negotiations, he had said in one of the meetings that women have the right to study up to the doctoral level and to work, and that the Taliban would be committed to these rights. This change in stance raises questions about the sincerity of the Taliban's promises at that time.
About three years ago, Delawar had also expressed hope in several speeches about the possibility of lifting educational restrictions on girls, but these hopes never materialized.
This comes as the overwhelming majority of the Afghan people, human rights organizations, and the international community strongly oppose the restrictions imposed by the Taliban against women and girls. Many attribute these bans to the Taliban's hardline ideology rather than the culture of the Afghan people.
Delawar's recent remarks reinforce concerns that the current restrictions on women are a fundamental and lasting policy of the Taliban government, with no clear prospect for change in the near future.
Source: Shamshad TV
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