ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation invited the Afghan Taliban administration to send an authorized female official to attend the 9th Ministerial Conference on Women, held in Islamabad on July 12-13. However, according to Afghanistan International, the Taliban had no woman in a senior position who could attend.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not explain why the group had no representative at the meeting.
According to the conference organizers, the meeting brought together 190 delegates, most of them women, from the OIC's 57 member states. No Taliban representative attended.
In an audio message broadcast by the local Ariana News network, Mujahid said the OIC's efforts "for the welfare of Islamic countries" were commendable and that the Taliban supported its work.
Mujahid said women in Afghanistan enjoyed rights guaranteed under "Islamic law." He said the Taliban administration could not grant rights recommended by other organizations if those rights had "no place in Islam," reflected Western culture or raised religious objections.
According to Ariana News, Mujahid said on Monday that the Taliban administration consisted of "a group of Islamic scholars" who understood Islamic rights better than others. "We assure you that our sisters in Afghanistan enjoy their rights under Islamic law," he said.
According to the conference agenda, participants were scheduled to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, including restrictions on education for women and girls.
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are barred from education beyond the sixth grade under Taliban rule.
The Taliban's morality law also places severe restrictions on women's presence in public and describes women's voices as something that must be concealed.
Women are also barred from most forms of employment, except for limited roles in education and healthcare.
The Taliban have repeatedly said they protect women's rights under Islamic law. The group's restrictions on Afghan women have been condemned by the OIC and other international organizations, which have called for the protection of women's fundamental rights in Afghanistan.
