French Prez Macron urges G20 powers to set conditions for Taliban before recognition

As the Taliban still awaits legitimacy, French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday has said that he wants the G20 economic powers to set conditions for the extremist group. Macron asserted that the G20 countries should push the Taliban to ensure rights for women and girls. The French President has stated that global powers should tell the Taliban that:

“You must absolutely give young girls in your country a future, and that is one of the things that we will look at before recognising you." 

In addition, Macron also raised other concerns, including allowing all girls back to school in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The French President has said that he will raise the same issue at the upcoming G20 summit in Rome. Other demands put forth by Macron include the Taliban allowing humanitarian operations to continue. In addition, he also stated that the armed group should condemn and refuse to cooperate with 'Islamist terrorist groups' in the region.

Apart from the Western superpowers, Macron has also called for other regional powers to set the same conditions before the Taliban's government is officially recognised. He added that the Western powers should 'convince' the regional powers to do the same. At a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month, G20 powers discussed sending a unified message to the Taliban before granting it global legitimacy.

Afghan women protest against Taliban; demand rights

Earlier in September, women in Afghanistan protested against the armed group and demanded rights. According to ANI, the Afghan women also raised slogans such as "women's exclusion is human exclusion," "our freedom of expression is the culmination of our power," and "education, work, and freedom are paths to growth," reported by news agency ANI. In addition, a group of women staged a protest in Kabul on 1 October expressing displeasure over the Taliban-led government's decision to bar women from educational institutions.

The women protestors were quoted by TOLO news as saying that the closing of schools and colleges for women's education is a violation of their fundamental rights. Apart from female students, teachers and lecturers also participated in the demonstration against the extremist organisation in Kabul. They called the closing of schools and universities a matter of grave concern that can deeply alter the future of learning for girls in the war-torn country. Despite security forces stopping the female protestors, they continued their demonstration, staying firm on their demands. According to TOLO News, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the protestors could get permission for education from the Ministry of Justice. 

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