Afghans in Spain: The international community should not accept the Taliban as representatives of the Afghan people

Madrid – A number of Afghan citizens living in Spain have held a protest rally in the country’s capital to protest the suppression of public protests in Herat and call on international institutions to reconsider their policy of engagement with the Taliban.

The rally was held in front of the Spanish National Television building, and participants expressed solidarity with the Herat protesters and condemned the violence against protesting citizens. They emphasized that the Taliban’s response to the people’s civil demands was not dialogue but repression and the use of force.

In their final statement, the protesters described the human rights situation in Afghanistan as “critical” and said that Afghan women continue to be deprived of their most basic human and social rights. They believe that widespread restrictions on women’s education, employment, and presence in society are a clear example of structural and organized discrimination.

The gathering also called on the international community not to abandon the civil and freedom-seeking struggles of Afghan women and to take a clear and practical stance against what was called “gender apartheid.”

The participants criticized the Taliban’s invitation to some international meetings and forums and warned that providing the group with an opportunity for political presence could lead to the normalization of the current situation in Afghanistan. They especially called on the European Parliament to refrain from inviting or accepting Taliban representatives.

The resolution of the gathering called on the United Nations, the European Union, the Spanish government, and human rights institutions to increase political and legal pressure on the Taliban to provide the basis for the group’s accountability for human rights violations.

The gathering concluded by emphasizing that the people of Afghanistan, especially women, continue to struggle to achieve freedom, justice, and their fundamental rights, and the international community should not remain silent in the face of these demands.

Reporter Shahbanu Noori