The Taliban militia has invited First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to visit Afghanistan and view for herself the condition of women there. Taliban foreign ministry said in a statement that Ms. Clinton was welcome to visit Afghanistan and “speak to Afghan women about their rights.”
The statement issued by the Taliban on Tuesday claims that it upholds the rights of women according to the Islamic faith. They also claimed that there are no abuses of women’s rights in Afghanistan and the situation of women was better there than in the United States.
The Taliban militia has instituted a system of gender apartheid since they gained control of the Afghanistan capital of Kabul in 1996. Women are forced to cover themselves from head to toe in a burqa with only a small mesh opening through which to see and breathe. Most women and girls are banned from attending school, denied access to medical care, and prohibited from leaving their homes without a close male relative.
The Feminist Majority Foundation is leading a public education Stop Gender Apartheid Campaign of national and international women’s and human rights groups to raise public awareness and to help ensure that the U.S. and UN do not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate form of government.
