Are women’s rights in Afghanistan negotiable?

The Taliban regime is not recognised internationally. This makes it difficult for UN bodies to deal with this de facto government. Non-governmental organisations criticise the UN for making concessions to the Taliban at the expense of women. In an email ahead of our scheduled interview, Nazifa Jalali said she was postponing our talk. "I have to deal with a case of stoning," said the Afghan human rights activist. It was about a 17-year-old girl, she told us a few days later. The girl had been raped by her brother, who was also a Taliban commander. The Taliban in that province in the centre of Afghanistan had decided to stone the girl and not the brother. The task now was to mobilise local figures, including tribal elders, to negotiate with the Taliban so that the girl could be taken elsewhere for her protection. Jalali is a member of the Human Rights Defender HRD-Plus network and documents human rights violations in Afghanistan. She currently lives in Norway. She also took part in ...