Women This Week: Women Excluded From UN-led Talks on Afghanistan

Taliban Insists Women’s Rights are an Internal Issue in Doha Talks 

The United Nations (UN) is facing criticism for holding talks with Taliban officials in Doha that expressly excluded Afghan civil society, ensuring that no Afghan women were present. Envoys from approximately twenty-five countries and regional organizations attended the meetings while insisting that the process was not a step toward formal recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of Afghanistan. The meetings focused on topics including narcotics and the private sector. At the Taliban’s insistence, human rights—including women’s rights—were off the table as they allege that these are issues that must be handled internally by Taliban officials in accordance with Islamic law. The UN did hold separate meetings for Afghan civil society representatives, but they were boycotted by many activists. “There was broad agreement on the need to chart a clear way forward,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs at the UN, adding, “Regrettably, the de facto authorities will not sit across the table with Afghan civil society in this format.”   

Election Coverage Focuses on Male Candidates in the UK 

According to research from Loughborough University, election coverage by media in the United Kingdom disproportionately highlights male voices. An audit found that since the general election campaign began in late May, seven of the twenty most covered figures have been women, with that number dropping to six in the past week. When looking at speaking time, women were given only 22 percent. “It’s a really stark divide,” said Dr. Jilly Kay, senior lecturer in communication and media. “Women are not being given meaningful or representative voices in the election campaign. They’re being systemically marginalised, so it’s trying to think about mansplaining on a ­systemic level. When women are represented, it tends to be as laypeople, not as experts,” she added.  

Journalists Arrested in Algeria for Covering Women Protest  

Two journalists in Algeria have been arrested for “incitement and hate speech” after publishing a video of businesswomen criticizing a government-sponsored event focused on innovation. The video, published by “Algeria Scoop,” shows businesswomen commenting on “humiliating” treatment and being regarded with “contempt” at an event hosted by the Ministry of Education and Professional Training. Sofiane Ghirous and Ferhat Omar, editor-in-chief and the website’s director, were detained for publishing this content. The arrests come as the Algerian government is carrying out a sustained crackdown on the press. This weekend, authorities arrested French author Dominique Martre, her Algerian publisher, and several other journalists and activists in an effort to prevent the sale of her book about teaching French in the disputed Kabylie region in the 1970s.