Historic peace talks between the Afghan Government and Taliban leaders took place in Qatar last week, marking the beginning of what is hoped to be a transition into longstanding peace for the country.
The talks represent the first successful attempt at political reconciliation between the parties, with Taliban representatives refusing to meet with the government until now. Topics up for discussion include issues of policy, governance, human rights as well as the distribution of power within the Afghan government. It is hoped that this commitment to power-sharing will bring an end to the perpetual violence that has plagued the country for over 40 years. Despite this, the negotiations present their own challenges. Conflicting views of what a post-war Afghanistan would look like could potentially undermine any aspirations for peace. One key issue concerns the outcome for women’s rights in the country, with years of progress towards equality at risk of being used as a political bargaining tool.
US INVOLVEMENT
The long-awaited negotiations come as a result of US-led agreements with the Taliban set out in February of this year. US troops have operated in Afghanistan since the 2001 terror attack against the World Trade Centre. 19 years later, the agreed deal involves a coordinated withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for assurances that the Taliban will not allow other extremist groups to operate within its controlled territory.
This move has been criticised by Afghan citizens as being “rushed” and “giving the Taliban too much without assurances in return.” For women in Afghanistan, the deal brings even greater cause for concern. Raihana Azad, an Afghan politician, believes that the US has discarded the rights that women have fought for over the last 20 years. She notes that “the Americans don’t care about rights for Afghan women” since the deal happened without their involvement. Journalist, Nargiss Hurakhsh, echoes this sentiment suggesting that “the Americans want to leave Afghanistan at any cost. And neither the Americans nor the Taliban care about Afghan women anymore.”
TALIBAN’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF AFGHANISTAN
Amidst negotiations, there has been a focus on initiating an immediate “humanitarian ceasefire” with the intention of securing a more permanent ceasefire at a later date when there is greater political stability. The goodwill of the Taliban's representatives and their commitment to establishing peace has been a point of contention throughout the negotiations. However, the Taliban’s Deputy Leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, assured officials that they would cooperate in the talks “with full sincerity.”
When questioned about their views as to how Afghanistan should be governed, the Taliban’s responses remain vague. Representatives have conferred broad statements about creating an “Islamic government” with little explanation as to how these plans will be implemented or what they entail. The Deputy Leader mentioned that “the rights of women granted by Islam” would be respected. This was the same position held during their reign of power, where the Taliban infringed upon women’s basic human rights and civil liberties - women were generally not allowed to work or attend school. Ms. Azad believes that the motives driving the Taliban have not changed, “they raped women — they whipped them on the streets. They haven’t changed. They represent the same evil as before.”
THE COLLECTIVE HOPE
“Citizens’ rights, women’s rights, human rights, victims’ and minorities’ rights, justice and freedoms that were achieved through many sacrifices, will be preserved in these talks,” Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan’s delegation announced. Whilst the Afghan government has made assurances that rights will be protected rather than sacrificed in the peace process, only four female representatives were present on the side of the government during negotiations, and none on the Taliban team.
These guarantees seem inconsistent with the recent comments made by one member of the Taliban who stated “we will only accept 100 percent of power in Afghanistan.” Such a position surely cannot be reconciled with a new, prosperous Afghanistan. One governed through shared power and steered towards protecting the rights of all citizens. According to Mr. Abdullah, after decades of conflict, the collective hope is to reach a level of peace that is “accepted and supported by all Afghan citizens.” Only time will tell if this will come to fruition.
Christie graduated with an LLM in International Law and Security from the University of Glasgow. She focused on areas such as nuclear weapons, cyber security, counter-terrorism, and the international courts system. Most recently, she interned at the International Bar Association undertaking legal research and policy work.