To help Afghan women, Canada will need to continue the dialogue with the Taliban in 2023.
On Tuesday, Afghan women lost the right to attend university. From primary school to higher education, all the doors of educational establishments are now closed to them. It’s revolting. By blocking their access to knowledge, the Taliban are adding another brick to the walls of their prison. Afghan women have almost no more rights, the Taliban are taking them away one by one despite their promises last year.
Some Afghanistan specialists see this new ban on women as a provocation on the part of the Taliban to attract the attention of the international community and force Western governments to sit down and negotiate with them. It is a valid assumption.
Anyway, Canada doesn’t really have a choice, it has to maintain the dialogue even if it does so by pinching its nose. Because the other option would have even more serious consequences. Cutting ties with the Taliban government would further isolate the most vulnerable who are already very isolated. Especially women.
PHOTO EBRAHIM NOROOZI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
This Afghan teacher classifies books and activity books after the closure of classes announced Thursday in Kabul.
This dialogue is already underway. The Canadian government doesn’t brag about it too much, but it has met with Taliban representatives on several occasions since the fall of Kabul in August 2021. On 13 occasions to be exact, according to documents obtained by the CBC last October thanks to access to information law. We learn that the senior Canadian official in Afghanisan, the former ambassador David Sproule, defended three issues in particular during these meetings which took place in Qatar: women’s access to education, the fight against terrorism and the safety of Afghans wishing to leave the country.
Canada must keep the channels of communication open and continue this dialogue.
Because major public denunciations yield few results if they are not accompanied by concrete measures. Yes, the international community should be outraged when the Taliban restricts women’s rights, but that is not enough. Western countries must also sit down to discuss with this government. And support humanitarian organizations working with Afghans.
On this subject, there are signs that Canada’s position has evolved.
As currently drafted, our anti-terrorism law blocks the intervention of Canadian humanitarian organizations that risk being criminally accused of “doing business” with the Taliban government. Two committees, in the Commons and in the Senate, have denounced the rigidity of these regulations. It seems their voice has been heard. Last week, International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan announced that the law could be amended as soon as next spring. It’s not too soon. Several Western countries have already done so.
But we will have to go even further. The pragmatists believe that it is necessary to agree with the Taliban on certain specific objectives such as the right of women to work and study. This is the opinion of, among others, Nipa Banerjee, formerly head of aid and development at the Canadian embassy in Afghanistan. Mme Banerjee, now a researcher at the University of Ottawa, worked under ambassadors Chris Martin and David Sproule. According to her, it is necessary to set clear objectives with the Taliban whose progress can be measured in a concrete way. She advocates the policy of small steps: first primary school, then secondary, and then university.
Mme Banerjee also strongly believes in the economic empowerment of women through micro-credit programs or home-based employment: “I have seen the results of such programs in Bangladesh and I believe that they could be rolled out in the regions rural areas of Afghanistan,” she told us in a telephone interview.
Canada must not let Afghan women down. Women’s rights are the spearhead of Canadian international policy. This is an opportunity to put our beautiful principles into practice.