Fawzia Koofi (far left) and Fatima Gailani are on the steering committee of the new Women’s Forum on Afghanistan.
And I hope that the international
community will not, kind of, shift [its focus away from Afghanistan]. [Not] pressurizing Taliban to open for negotiation and an inclusive govern- ment means Afghanistan will contin- ue to be a country that could threaten the world’s security. Because all these military extremist groups that have inspired the Taliban—and the Taliban have inspired—will use Afghanistan for their purpose.
one vote, but they’ll still be leaving out half the population in terms of political representation. GAILANI : I don’t think the Taliban could leave women behind. It will not be 50-50, but I don’t think that jirga will be without women. … Afghanistan has changed; women of Afghanistan have changed. I don’t think it will be men only.
MONTAGNE: But the Taliban is currently a male-only government, one that most recently appears to be more concerned about imposing its ideology in ways that severely limit women and girls, even at the expense of relationships with the outside world and international donors. When women can’t board a plane, or travel in a taxi more than 48 miles without a male protector, when high school girls show up at school only to be sent home yet again, how can women’s voices break through? GAILANI : Yes, the secondary schools for girls not opening is a shock for the whole country, especially for women. I see a very small light—very small light—that the Taliban didn’t say that it was a permanent thing. That they have brought excuses …
MONTAGNE: Like there aren’t enough school uniforms or women teachers. GAILANI : Not very valid excuses, but still excuses. So, it is important to take them up on this. That, OK, you have to remove those obstacles and then the schools have to open. My hope is that the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation]—the Muslim countries—they should voice this message, and take it very seriously. There are other Muslim countries, and none of them has such laws and regulations. The restriction on the movement of women is very difficult, and it will pre-
vent women to do their everyday work. Quite frankly I don’t know how we could fight this. We keep on saying that the humanitarian efforts should be kept sepa- rate from politics. But when it comes to the education of girls and the free move- ment of women, this is a humanitarian thing. This is an issue that needs attention not only of the world, but specifically the attention of the Muslim world. Be- cause this will paralyze half of the country, and this is not normal at all. KOOFI : I know the Taliban are saying that they have won militarily, and they are very proud of that. For them, inclusivity means sharing power among dif- ferent Taliban groups, which is sad. The reality of Afghanistan is that it’s a diverse country, a country of religious minorities, ethnic minorities, women. The Taliban have a huge task ahead of them. And what I can see from my
negotiation with them, I don’t think they are able to deliver, and I don’t think they are able to handle such an empowered nation. …
26 | SPRING 2022
MONTAGNE: But can the Taliban just muddle along, do you think? I mean, at what point does that break down? KOOFI : Well, a lot of groups are now also preparing for military resistance. … On one hand you have an empowered nation that is unhappy about what’s happening, and then not only military opposition but also you have Daesh [ISIS] as a growing threat to Taliban. I know the social
fabric of
Afghanistan, and I know Taliban’s op- pressive measures towards ethnic groups, towards religious minorities, towards women. These are all paving the ground for, I hate to say it, but an- other conflict. So the reality is that stability is not just harnessing the gun, as Taliban claim. It’s more than that. It’s about inclusion.
MONTAGNE: The question of women and girls in Afghanistan has been talked about since the beginning. I wonder if there’s a concern that there will be a burnout about what’s going to happen with women and girls. GAILANI : It is nice to have [the support of the West]; it is very good to have it, but I think the time has come [for] women in Afghanistan [to] talk about their own. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have that strong voice, but today we do have. I mean, it’s 44 years that women in the West [have been] supporting us,
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