The recent remarks by Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA, requesting increased global interaction with the Taliban, have sparked a strong reaction from Afghan women protesters. KABUL, Dec 29 (Afghanistan Women’s News Agency) – The women protesters, members of the Purple Saturdays Movement, have objected to the recent statements made by the head of UNAMA […]
The recent remarks by Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA, requesting increased global interaction with the Taliban, have sparked a strong reaction from Afghan women protesters.
KABUL, Dec 29 (Afghanistan Women’s News Agency) – The women protesters, members of the Purple Saturdays Movement, have objected to the recent statements made by the head of UNAMA regarding increased global engagement with the Taliban, stating that they did not expect such an expectation from her at the recent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Afghanistan.
On Thursday, December 28, members of the Purple Saturdays Movement, in response to the remarks of Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), stated in a declaration that OttoBayeva is attempting to whitewash the Taliban.
The members of this movement assert: “Although the people of Afghanistan, especially women in the country, expected Mrs. Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), to speak truthfully about the tragic political, social, cultural, and economic conditions, gender discrimination, and systematic oppression of women, vulnerable ethnic groups, religious minorities, human rights violations, the expansion of fundamentalism and terrorist groups, the closure of schools, the increase of poverty, and the lack of transparency in the use of international aid (40 million US dollars a week), false general amnesty, illegitimate and undemocratic government, the detention of hundreds of innocent individuals, especially women protesters and human rights activists by the single-gender, single-ethnicity, self-proclaimed Taliban government in Afghanistan, unfortunately, instead, she whitewashed the Taliban by requesting increased global interaction with this group and ignoring the demands of the people of Afghanistan, especially women.”
The members of this movement addressed the head of UNAMA, asking: “While for over two years, the people of Afghanistan, especially women protesters, have repeatedly considered any form of engagement with the Taliban as a capitulation to this group, and have condemned interaction with the Taliban by raising the voice for rights, justice, and freedom on whose behalf are you advocating for increased engagement with the Taliban?”
At the conclusion, the Purple Saturdays Movement, while condemning the statements of the head of UNAMA, calls upon the global community to urge UNAMA officials to adhere to the United Nations Charter and to exert maximum pressure for the immediate and unconditional release of women protesters, human rights activists, journalists, university professors, civil servants, and former government troops.
