The fundamentalist Taliban movement has rejected a request by eleven members of the UN Security Council to lift a veto on women’s participation in education and humanitarian work on the grounds that it contravenes Islamic law (or sharia).
«The Islamic Emirate tries to regulate all issues under the light of sharia,» explained spokesman and Deputy Information Minister Zabiullah Mujahid, referring to the movement’s official name.
«Taking into account the responsibility it must show towards its people and its religion, the Emirate cannot allow acts against the sharia in this country,» he added.
Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States, expressed «grave concern about the critical situation of women and girls in Afghanistan», according to the conclusions of the Security Council meeting of last Friday, collected by the permanent mission of Switzerland to the international institution.
The signatories understand that women are a «key» element in operations to alleviate the humanitarian situation because of their access to populations that their male colleagues cannot reach. «Without their participation in the delivery of aid in Afghanistan and their essential expertise, NGOs will not be able to reach those most in need, particularly women and girls, to provide life-saving materials and services,» they say.
The spokesman, in response, has called on the international community to understand the religious demands of traditional Afghan society and to refrain, once again, from linking the delivery of humanitarian aid to the political situation.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
