Daily Times

KABUL: Reacting to the Taliban government’s command on women’s rights which said women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West Saturday said that Washington welcomed the decree recognizing a woman’s right to determine if and whom she marries.

A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace or to end animosity,” read the decree issued a day earlier.

Taking to Twitter, Thomas West, besides applauding the Taliban’s action about women’s rights, urged Kabul to do more in this regard.

“At the same time, much more is needed to ensure women’s rights in every aspect of Afghan society including schools, workplaces, politics and media,” said Thomas West.

Women must consent to marriage

On December 3, the Taliban-led Afghan government had released a decree on women’s rights, stating women should not be considered “property” and must consent to a marriage, but failed to mention female access to education or work outside the home.

The Taliban have been under pressure from the international community, who have mostly frozen funds for Afghanistan, to commit to upholding women’s rights since the group took over the country on August 15.

“A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace…or to end animosity,” the Taliban decree, released by spokesman Zabihullah Muhajid, had said.

It set out the rules governing marriage and property for women, stating women should not be forced into marriage and widows should have a share in their late husband’s property.