Women should give birth, they can’t be ministers: Taliban

Rejecting all possibilities of women being inducted into the government in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule, a spokesperson of the insurgent group has said women should restrict themselves to giving birth only. He also went on to say that women should not be inducted into the cabinet as ministers.

The statement from the Taliban comes at a time when scores of Afghan women, risking their lives, have taken to the streets to protest against the rule of the insurgent group.

Responding to the protests and the outrage over the all-male government in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesperson Syed Zekrullah Hashimi, in an interview to Tolo News, said that the women can’t be ministers. He said it is like you put something on her neck that she can’t carry.

In the interview, he went on to say that it is not necessary for a woman to be in the cabinet, adding that women “should give birth”. “Women protesters can’t represent all women in Afghanistan,” he added.

After talking over Afghanistan, the Taliban had recently vowed to honour women’s rights and had said that they will be given government jobs.

During their last rule in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, women could not work, girls were not allowed to attend school and women had to cover their face and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out.

As per a report by CNN, the Taliban used whips and sticks against the women protesters in the crackdown on dissent. Moreover, various videos and images on social media showed women chanting, “Long live the women of Afghanistan”. Some held placards that read: “No government can deny the presence of women” and “I will sing freedom over and over.”