Women, Peace and Security

"I take note of the public commitments made by the Taliban’s spokesperson to uphold women’s rights “within the framework of Islam”, including women’s right to work, to pursue higher education and to have an active role in society, as well as the right of girls to attend school. The immediate inclusion of women in the governance structure of the new leadership in Afghanistan will be the ultimate litmus test for the Taliban," stated Ms. Patten.

The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, but there are still forces of opposition attempting to maintain human rights in the country.

The political agreement signed in Somalia this past heralds not just a new democratic dawn but also one of equity and inclusivity by raising the quota of women in the formal political space to at least a third of the bicameral federal legislature.

The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden's administration would press for "meaningful participation" for women and minorities in ongoing peace talks.

Some 60 percent of protesters against the military coup are women who fear their hard-won rights hang in the balance.

Every day at sunrise, Daisy* and her sisters set out to spend several hours in the heat cleaning debris from the previous day’s protests off the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.