Putting an end to all possibilities of women being included in the new Taliban government, a spokesperson of the Afghanistan militia said that women can’t be ministers and that they should stick to giving birth.
Talking to Afghanistan-based TOLO News, Taliban spokesperson Sayed Zekrullah Hashimi defended the Taliban’s decision of not including any woman in the recently built interim cabinet while asserting that cabinet is no place for them.
Earlier this week, the Taliban regime announced a 33 member cabinet that would handle government ministries and run the country. However, not one ethnic minority or woman has been chosen to be a part of this cabinet.
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This has resulted in an outrage not only outside of Afghanistan but in certain areas of Kabul where women protestors are seen gather around public spaces. Afghan women, who were protesting against the all-male Afghanistan's new interim government in Kabul, were driven away by the Taliban on Wednesday.
When asked about these women protestors, the Taliban spokesperson said that these selective women cannot represent all the women in Afghanistan. He further said that "a woman can't be a minister, it is like you put something on her neck that she can't carry".
Hashimi then took a jibe at the previous government and said that the “puppet government set-up by the US” did not respect the women even if they were in the cabinet. He went on to compare those women with prostitutes.
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The backlash has come amidst the Taliban’s promise of forming a more inclusive government this time around, unlike during their 1996-2001 regime where every leader belonged to the rank of Taliban. However, no changes have been seen this time either.
