EU ambassador on risks for Afghan women under Taliban

The head of the European Delegation to Afghanistan on Monday said that there is a need for concern but "no alarmism" around the rights of women in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country.

Ambassador Andreas Von Brandt participated in a meeting in Brussels by the Women's Rights and Gender Equality and Subcommittee on Human Rights, which discussed risks faced by women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban.

Von Brandt said there was still room to influence steering Afghanistan towards "a moderate Islamic" country by making the Taliban stick to their commitments, and warned against making predictions based on fear and the past.

"What I meant by 'no alarmism' is to treat a political actor not by what the entity has said 25 years ago, but to look at what is happening now," he told MEPs.

He said the EU was in contact with the Taliban and prioritised allowing women participating in its humanitarian and political work at the core of its requests.