Qatar, Indonesia women ministers ask Taliban to let girls go to school

Afghan girls

Indonesia's FM Retno Marsudi and Qatar's Deputy FM Lolwah Al Khater together hold talks with Taliban's acting FM Amir Khan Muttaqi in Doha, urging the Taliban to allow womens' education.

Two women ministers, from mainly Muslim nations, have put international demands that Afghan girls be allowed back in school to a top member of the Taliban government.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Qatar's Deputy Foreign Minister Lolwah Al Khater together held talks with the Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Doha on Monday amid mounting concern over rights in the country, especially for women.

Foreign governments have warned that the Taliban actions could cause a backlash at a fund-raising conference for Afghanistan on Thursday, as aid agencies warn of a growing food and health crisis in the country of 37 million people.

Marsudi and Al Khater were the first foreign representatives to meet a Taliban leader since it sent girls home last Wednesday, a few hours after letting them back into secondary schools.

In a Twitter comment, Marsudi said that she and Al Khater "discussed (the) humanitarian issue and education for all in Afghanistan" with Muttaqi.

"Girls in education, as well as women's rights, were discussed in the meeting," added a source briefed on Monday's discussions.

The United States cancelled planned talks with Muttaqi in Doha at the weekend in protest at the school action.

Together with Assistant Foreign Minister of Qatar @Lolwah_ALkhater and H.E. Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan, we held a meeting in Doha and discussed humanitarian issue and education for all in Afghanistan (27/03) pic.twitter.com/DjSuXqia26

— Menteri Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia (@Menlu_RI) March 28, 2022

Malala says ban won't last

The US special envoy on Afghanistan, Thomas West, told a gathering of policy leaders in Doha at the weekend that he expected the school ban to be quickly reversed.

Muttaqi's planned appearance at the Doha Forum was cancelled though he eventually arrived in Qatar, where the Taliban have a representative office.

The girls' education ban has been widely condemned after the Taliban, which retook Kabul in August, gave commitments that girls would be allowed to study.

And there are now fears that the action could damage a UN appeal to raise $4.4 billion to cover Afghanistan's food and health needs this year.

Germany and Britain are organising a fund-raising conference on Thursday.

Germany gave $659 million in aid to Afghanistan last year, but its ambassador-designate to the country, Markus Potzel, said: "It's very difficult to convince our politicians, our public, our media to give public money to a country where they deprive women of education."

Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai said the Taliban was "misusing the name of Islam" by stopping girls from studying. But she predicted the ban would not last as Afghan women feel "empowered".