Bringing Afghan Women to the Table: How to Negotiate with the Taliban

Abstract

Norway's and Switzerland's recent hosting of the de facto Taliban regime representatives in early 2022 has overshadowed the risks to women and their rights in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Unless international and European policymakers make significant policy interventions while engaging with the de facto Taliban regime, these risks will only escalate. Women's exclusion in Afghanistan was aggravated after the US/Pakistani/Saudi-backed jihad against the Soviet invasion between 1979 and 1989, where cultural conservatism in rural parts merged with religious extremism. Between 1979 and 2001, Afghanistan witnessed high levels of conflict and the rising prominence of ultraconservative religious clerics and leaders in the country's socio-political makeup. As a result, the first Taliban regime (1996-2001) imposed religion-inspired laws that placed strict restrictions on women in their public and private lives. Following the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban regime was overthrown in October 2001 by the US-led coalition. During the two-decade US presence in the country, and with support from European partners, significant gains were made in providing more education and professional opportunities to women. With the Taliban back in power, these gains now risk being rolled back, and international stakeholders are facing a catch-22. There remains a dilemma regarding whether Afghanistan should be seen from a humanitarian perspective (focusing on avoiding mass starvation) or from a security perspective (with the emphasis being on not engaging with a violent group such as the Taliban). Major policy decisions, therefore, need to be made soon. To avoid an enormous humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, some level of engagement with the Taliban is required. Switzerland has followed Norway's lead in informally engaging with the Taliban. Such initiatives can bring sustainable results only if engagement with the Taliban includes Afghan women. If Taliban delegations excluding women are accepted in engagements with European counterparts, the group will be further emboldened to persist with exclusionary policies at home.