Women negotiators confront Taliban at peace talk

Agence France Presse spoke to Fawzia Koofi, of the four women negotiators alongside 38 men at the peace talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, between the government and the Taliban following four decades of war in the country. Koofi, 44, a staunch women’s rights advocate, said “one has to find a way among those people who do not believe in women's presence.” Women, she maintained, will be judged more sternly  than their male peers. “People look at what you wear, whether your scarf is of the right size or not, and not at what you are saying,” Koofi said. It is very difficult to address women’s rights with insurgents who are still disoriented about the issue, she added, pointing out that during the Taliban rule which was toppled by the 2001 US-led invasion, girls were denied any rights. (An Nahar, September 19, 2020)