Women’s Motion Network Condemns Taliban Invitation to Brussels.
Kabul Times News | 2026-05-17
Report; By Tabassum Aslamyar
Kabul – The Women’s Motion Network has issued a statement strongly condemning the European Union’s decision to invite the Taliban to Brussels, calling it “legitimizing a regime accused of gender apartheid.”
The statement states that the Taliban have ruled Afghanistan through “force, repression, and fear” and have deprived Afghan women and girls of their most basic human rights, including education, work, freedom of movement, and social presence, for nearly three years.
The Women’s Motion Network has emphasized that Afghanistan under Taliban rule has become “the largest prison for women in the world” and that any political engagement with this group is ignoring the suffering of millions of Afghan women.
The statement reads in part:
“Inviting the Taliban to Brussels is not diplomacy, but legitimizing a regime that has committed gender apartheid and crimes against humanity.”
The women’s rights group also warned that such actions could send a dangerous message to extremist groups around the world, one that shows that the suppression of women and the destruction of freedoms may ultimately lead to international acceptance.
The Women’s Movement Network has asked the European Union how an organization that considers itself an advocate for human rights and women’s freedoms is now engaging with a group that, according to the network, “has stifled the breath of Afghan women.”
The statement goes on to say that the Taliban do not represent the Afghan people and have created an atmosphere of suffocation and fear in the country by silencing women’s voices, suppressing journalists, and eliminating ethnic minorities.
The Women’s Movement Network has called on the European Union and the international community, instead of normalizing relations with the Taliban, to stand with the people of Afghanistan, especially the protesting and freedom-seeking women, who continue to fight for justice and freedom despite threats, imprisonment, exile and repression.
The network concluded by emphasizing:
“The Taliban must be held accountable for their crimes, not welcomed in world capitals.”
The Women’s Movement Network also described the European Union’s policy towards the Taliban as “shameful,” adding:
“Silence in the face of gender apartheid is complicity in oppression.”
Women’s Motion Network Condemns Taliban Invitation to Brussels.
