After hearing the extremist Taliban militia express interest in working with the U. S. government on extradition of terrorist Osama bin Laden, President Clinton on Tuesday denounced the Taliban’s draconian treatment of women and girls.
While he did not discuss the Taliban’s overtures regarding bin Laden, Clinton stressed the importance of the restoration of women and girls’ human rights in Afghanistan at a speech made during a ceremony honoring photographer Annie Lebovitz and the work of The Vital Voices Global Partnership, which supports economic and political empowerment for women.
“I hope the fact that…we continue to push for changes in the lives of those people and take as many in as we can here will some day lead to a change in that country,” said Clinton. “Because no one should have to undergo what those women have experienced.”
Clinton’s words emphasized the importance of continued pressure on the Taliban for their policies of gender apartheid against women, after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suggested on Monday that the Taliban might be granted improved relations with the United States if they release international terrorist bin Laden.
