To Negotiate or Not? Afghan Women on the Taliban.

• Author: Ahmadi, Belquis
• Position: Essay

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These days there is a lot of talk about negotiating with the Taliban. Afghan women are divided on this issue. Some, like me, believe there should not be any reconciliation or negotiation with the Taliban. We have witnessed their brutal treatment of Afghan citizens, both men and women. Compromising with the Taliban, to those who have suffered (or understand the pain of the sufferers), means humiliation, a lack of basic human rights, and a lack of respect for human dignity.

Just a reminder: When we talk about the Taliban, we talk about the same group that terrorized the entire Afghan nation from 1994 to 2001. It's the same group that publicly executed women. It controlled every aspect of people's lives, from the length of a man's beard to the proper dress code for a woman. It humiliated men, young and old, through unimaginable practices, from randomly checking men's underarms (to make sure they were shaved) to recording how many times they offered prayer in the mosque nearest to their residence. This same group publicly flogged women for wearing white socks or shoes, high heels, of even nail polish.

The supporters of negotiation with the Taliban argue that negotiation is inevitable, so they want to make sure that women are part of it. However, one thing they forget is that the Taliban do not want to talk with women. The Taliban view women as less worthy, and as slaves and servants to men.

Perhaps the negotiation will take place with the so-called moderate Taliban. Moderate Taliban? Who are they? And where were they when the entire nation was terrorized, when men and women were publicly humiliated, when Afghan women and men were being flogged and even executed? Where were they when national treasures were being looted and destroyed? Where were they when women, including those who were highly educated, were being forced to either beg on the streets or sell their bodies in order to feed their family? Finally, where were they when the Taliban beheaded countless innocent Afghans and publicly hanged a seven-year-old boy who was charged with spying for the Americans? Sorry, he was not seven years old. The Taliban corrected the media by claiming the boy was twelve.

I am as pessimistic as any ordinary Afghan at this time. I have been working in Afghanistan on different projects since January 2002. While it gives me great pleasure to see children going to school and women being able to work outside their homes (though only in...