On Tuesday, the US State Department expressed concerns regarding the noticeable lack of female leaders, as well as the past actions and wanted statuses of Afghanistan’s new leaders.
As the world considers whether or not to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government, there is growing concern from world leaders regarding the roster of the new caretaker government announced on Tuesday by the Taliban.
On Tuesday, the US State Department expressed concerns regarding the noticeable lack of female leaders, as well as the past actions and wanted statuses of Afghanistan’s new leaders.
In a statement shared with The Hill, a State Department spokesperson said that although the Taliban “has presented this as a caretaker cabinet,” the US “will judge the Taliban by its actions, not words.”
“We have made clear our expectation that the Afghan people deserve an inclusive government,” the spokesperson said.
The State Department’s statement also noted that the list of new leaders announced by the Taliban “consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates and no women.”
This notable absence of women in the inner core of the government comes despite the Taliban saying that they have been urging women to join government offices in an attempt to differentiate the Taliban rule of 2021 to that of 20 years ago, where women and girls were placed under strict rules preventing them from going to school and only being allowed to leave the house with a male companion.
