WASHINGTON: US lawmakers grilled President Joe Biden's Afghanistan peace envoy on Tuesday about how women will be protected if the hard-line Islamist Taliban take control after U.S. troops withdraw, and threatened to withhold funding if rights gains are reversed.
"I don’t believe under any circumstances that the United States Senate will support assistance for Afghanistan, especially under the World Bank’s program which provides budget support, if the Taliban has taken a governing role that ends civil society advances and rolls back women’s rights," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez.
Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testified at the committee's first public hearing on Afghanistan policy since Biden announced plans to withdraw troops by Sept. 11 after two decades of war.
When Biden made his announcement on April 14, he said Washington would continue providing assistance to Afghan security forces and civilian programs, including those for women and girls.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration was working with Congress to provide nearly $300 million in civilian aid to the country.
Members of Congress, many of whom are skeptical about the plans to bring home the 2,500 remaining troops, worry the departure would cede control to the Taliban, whose 1996-2001 rule severely curtailed activities for Afghan women.
Lawmakers of both parties expressed concerns about rights, the potential for civil war and whether Afghanistan would again become a refuge for extremists.
"I'm concerned that the administration's decision may result in a Taliban offensive that topples the government," said Senator Jim Risch, the committee's top Republican.
The State Department on Tuesday ordered government employees out of its embassy in Kabul if their work could be done elsewhere, citing increasing violence in the Afghan capital.
'ACCOUNTABILITY'
The international community has poured billions into Afghanistan since the Taliban was driven from power. Gains for women and girls in access to education and public life are repeatedly touted as a major success.
Women have been underrepresented during peace talks despite promises that they would have a place at the table.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the only woman on the committee, said Khalilzad, who also served under former Republican President Donald Trump, had not made including women enough of a priority.
She said there was too much uncertainty about the plans for Afghanistan after Sept. 11 to know whether women's rights would be protected. She said women in Afghanistan remain targets of violence, something that must be stopped.
Shaheen referred to seven women who had been killed by the Taliban for advocating for human rights.
"I will not support any efforts that will allow them to continue to commit these horrific acts without any accountability," Shaheen said.
Khalilzad insisted Washington was pressing for women and minorities to be included in future peace talks. He said Washington and partner countries would punish backtracking in Afghanistan with isolation and sanctions.
Blinken echoed that sentiment. "I can say very clearly and categorically that an Afghanistan that does not respect their rights, that does not sustain the gains we've made, will be a pariah," he told CNN.
Under the Taliban, women were barred from education or work, required to fully cover their bodies, and could not leave home without a male relative. "Moral offenses" were punished by flogging and stoning.
The Sept. 11 deadline - 20 years after the attacks that sent Washington to war - extended the U.S. presence there beyond a May 1 deadline negotiated under Trump.
Reuters
Wed Apr 28 2021
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) speaks about seven women from Afghanistan who were assassinated for their efforts to improve the lives of Afghans, during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. REUTERSpic
AWANI 7:45 [09/05/2024] - Sultan Selangor perkenan keputusan Selangor FC | MFL beri kemenangan kepada JDT | komited banteras keganasan
- Sultan Selangor kecewa MFL tolak permohonan, JDT menang percuma
- Tunku Mahkota Ismail saran kerajaan perbaharui silibus pelajaran lapuk
- Jemaah haji Malaysia selamat tiba, disambut sekuntum bunga
- Kadar kelahiran rendah, Korea mahu wujud kementerian baharu
- Tunku Mahkota Ismail saran kerajaan perbaharui silibus pelajaran lapuk
- Jemaah haji Malaysia selamat tiba, disambut sekuntum bunga
- Kadar kelahiran rendah, Korea mahu wujud kementerian baharu
Insiden babit pemain bola sepak: KBS tak layan spekulasi - Adam Adli
KBS menyerahkan perkara itu kepada pihak berkuasa untuk menjalankan siasatan supaya tindakan dapat diambil terhadap dalang terlibat.
Johor kutuk insiden serangan terhadap 3 pemain bola sepak - Onn Hafiz
Onn Hafiz tidak akan berkompromi, terhadap mana-mana pihak yang mencetuskan isu yang boleh menggugat keharmonian dan keselamatan di Johor.
ASEAN dan EU akan adakan mesyuarat Kumpulan Kerja Bersama tentang minyak sawit
Komitmen ini ditekankan ketika Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Kerjasama Bersama ASEAN-EU (JCC) Ke-31 yang berlangsung di Jakarta pada Rabu.
KIR wanita lebih sukar untuk keluar daripada kemiskinan - Pakar
Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif, Pepper Labs Sdn. Bhd., Gevitha Ananda Roe berkata Ketua Isi Rumah (KIR) wanita lebih sukar untuk keluar daripada garis kemiskinan. Jelasnya, wanita-wanita ini perlu mengendalikan pelbagai aspek ekonomi dan kebajikan keluarga sehingga menyukarkan usaha menambahbaik punca pendapatan. #DialogTigaPenjuru
Baiki tatakelola institusi kewangan persaraan sebelum wajibkan sebarang caruman - Pakar
Pakar Ekonomi Universiti Malaya (UM), Profesor Ulung Datuk Dr. Rajah Rasiah berkata tatakelola semua institusi berkaitan kewangan persaraan dan kebajikan sosial perlu mencapai tahap tertinggi. Jelasnya, tanpa keyakinan rakyat dan tahap integriti yang tinggi, maka tidak wajar diwajibkan sebarang caruman kepada orang awam. #DialogTigaPenjuru
Manfaatkan PADU cerap profil isi rumah untuk salur bantuan - Pakar
Penolong Profesor Jabatan Sosiologi dan Antropologi Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Dr. Syarifah Fatimah Alzahrah Al-Attas berkata sistem Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) perlu dimanfaatkan untuk mencerap profil isi rumah miskin di Malaysia. Jelasnya, maklumat yang terkumpul akan menentukan jumlah dan bentuk bantuan yang diperlukan untuk membebaskan suatu isi rumah dari belenggu kemiskinan. #DialogTigaPenjuru
Korea Selatan mahu tangani kadar kelahiran antara terendah dunia
Presiden Korea Selatan, Yoon Suk Yeol mahu mewujudkan kementerian baharu bagi menangani masalah kadar kelahiran rendah di negara berkenaan iaitu terendah di dunia sekali gus kini semakin menghampiri krisis demografi.
Ada ingatan dan pesanan buat semua jemaah haji Malaysia
Ketua Konsulat Malaysia di Jeddah, Roslan Shariff yang menyambut rombongan penerbangan pertama jemaah haji Malaysia seramai 282 orang menasihatkan semua jemaah haji Malaysia supaya sentiasa bergerak secara berkumpulan demi keselamatan mereka selain mematuhi arahan yang dikeluarkan oleh Tabung Haji dari semasa ke semasa.
Selawat, sekuntum bunga sambut jemaah pertama haji Malaysia
Sekuntum bunga, cenderamata dan minuman ringan serta selawat menjadi pembuka tirai bagi menyambut ketibaan 282 jemaah haji Malaysia musim 1445H yang tiba di hotel penginapan di Emaar Royal, Madinah pada pagi Khamis, 9 Mei 2024.
Taliban pamer senjata dalam muzium
Bahagian kecil muzium telah diletakkan pelbagai objek perang yang kini menjadi tarikan pengunjung paling ramai.
Nahas pesawat Rusia: 4 daripada 6 penumpang ditemukan selamat - Taliban
Seramai empat daripada enam penumpang ditemukan masih hidup selepas sebuah pesawat Rusia terhempas di wilayah Badakhshan di Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan keluarkan Taliban daripada senarai organisasi diharamkan
Taliban yang berdepansekatan PBB kerana keganasan tidak lagi dianggap sebagai organisasi yang diharamkan di Kazakhstan.
150,000 wanita dan sektor kesihatan, hak tidak diabaikan - Menteri Kesihatan Awam Afghanistan
Seramai 150,000 wanita berkhidmat dalam sektor kesihatan Afghanistan ketika ini dengan pelbagai cabang kepakaran.
Afghanistan ketika ini 100 peratus aman - Menteri Kesihatan Awam Afghanistan
Situasi di Afghanistan jauh lebih baik berbanding 20 tahun lalu yang menyaksikan ratusan orang maut akibat peperangan.
Afghanistan perlu raih semula penghormatan untuk membangun - Penganalisis
Afghanistan perlu memecahkan persepsi negatif terhadap negaranya dan meraih semula penghormatan komuniti antarabangsa untuk membangun.
PBB desak Taliban berhenti seksa, lindungi hak tahanan
Misi diplomatik PBB di Afghanistan telah mendokumentasikan lebih daripada 1,600 kes pencabulan hak asasi manusia semasa penangkapan dan penahanan individu selepas itu.
Taliban larang kaum wanita kunjungi taman negara Afghanistan
"Bersiar-siar bukanlah keperluan untuk kaum wanita," kata Menteri Hal Ehwal Kebajikan.
Afghanistan dipimpin Taliban mula ekstrak minyak
Keutamaan akan diberikan bagi menggaji kakitangan teknikal dan bukan teknikal dan pembinaan semula lombong menggunakan hasil Sar-e-Pul.
Taliban larang operasi salun kecantikan di Afghanistan
Taliban larang operasi salun kecantikan di negara itu dan menarik balik lesen yang dikeluarkan sebelum ini.