Afghan women demand inclusion in new Taliban govt

A Taliban fighter (left) stands guard as Afghan women take part in a protest march for their rights. Pic/AFP

A group of Afghan women staged a rally in Kabul demanding the inclusion of females in the country's new government headed by the Taliban, according to a media report. Friday's rally came a day after a similar one was staged in Herat amid the Taliban trying to form a new government following their complete takeover of the country last month, said the TOLO news report.

The Taliban, who are yet to decide on female leadership roles, have already said that women can work in government institutions, but not in higher-ranking positions. During the rally in Kabul, the participants demanded the Taliban and the international community preserve women's achievements in Afghanistan in the last two decades and respect their political, social, and economic rights.

"No society will make progress without women's active role. Therefore, women's political participation in its cabinet should be considered," civil society activist Tarannom Saeedi said. Another activist, Razia said that "we want to work like men under the Islamic law". The participants urged women across the country to go back to work.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, the Taliban turned away several female presenters working at RTA (the national radio and television facilitates in Afghanistan) and did not let them continue working at the station.

EU to re-establish joint presence in Afg

Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) have agreed to re-establish a joint presence in Kabul to ensure the safe departure of the bloc's nationals and Afghans who are considered at risk and who could be received by member states, a top diplomat said. After a meeting with the foreign ministers, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that this task was conditional on whether security conditions are met for talks with the new government in Afghanistan.

Afghan TV network stays on air despite fear of Taliban

Afghan presenter Zarmina Mohammadi. Pic/AFP

When Taliban fighters entered Kabul on the evening of August 15, executives at Afghanistan's largest independent TV network made a difficult decision: stay on-air or go in the dark. Tolo continues to broadcast, but now faces a difficult future under the Taliban. "As a 24/7 news operation, we didn't have an hour to take a break and reconsider," Latullah Najafizada, director of Tolo News, said. He said Tolo was determined to cover the news, and that it would be "almost impossible" to renegotiate with the Taliban once the network was shut down.

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