Mary Akrami, Sahar Halaimzai and Rahela Sidiqi, Opinion contributors, March 1, 2020<\/p>\n
Preserving the rights of women and all Afghan citizens is nonnegotiable in the next phase of talks, as more than 40 civil society groups said Sunday.<\/em><\/p>\n Afghan women have been working to build peace for decades. We have spent years fighting for basic rights and, over\u00a0the past year, for\u00a0a seat at the table in\u00a0talks\u00a0between the United States and the Taliban. We are not reassured by the agreement signed Saturday <\/a>by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban\u2019s Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, or by the process that led up to it.<\/p>\n This is a critical moment for our country. The window of opportunity to ensure that all Afghans are protected in the next phase of the peace talks is narrow.\u00a0Despite the significant progress made in women\u2019s political participation<\/a>\u00a0in Afghanistan, Afghan women still face huge obstacles in representation.<\/p>\n For a start,\u00a0Afghan women and\u00a0representatives from civil society and other minority groups\u00a0should have been at the table\u00a0for the U.S.-Taliban talks that led to this agreement, but we were not.\u00a0History has shown us that women and minorities stand to lose the most from any deal\u00a0made behind closed doors and by a room full of men.<\/p>\n