Afghan talks: warning of 'future Malalas' if women's rights traded away to Taleban

‘As we’ve seen with Malala Yousufzai … the Taleban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are fiercely hostile to women’s rights’ - Kate Allen

Commenting on talks being hosted today by the Prime Minister David Cameron today on the Afghan peace process, Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“David Cameron should say to presidents Karzai and Zardari ‘have you done enough to ensure that women’s rights will not be sacrificed to the Taleban in peace talks?’

“Afghan women’s rights activists are telling us that the situation for women and girls in some parts of Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly.

“The big worry is that high-level meetings like today’s at Chequers will only sideline women’s rights and even sacrifice them in a growing desperation to do a deal with the Taleban.

“As we’ve seen with Malala Yousufzai and numerous other cases, the Taleban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are fiercely hostile to women’s rights, including girl’s education and women’s wider participation in political life.

“If women’s rights are traded away in an illusory ‘peace’ deal with the Taleban, we could be seeing a lot of more Malalas in the future.”

Today’s trilateral talks between the UK, Afghanistan and Pakistan, being held at the Prime Minister’s country retreat Chequers, are part of a series which has reportedly involved discussion on peace talks with the Taleban ahead of an international troop pull-out in Afghanistan at the of 2014.