The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) displayed Afghanistan’s national flag alongside those of other member states during the opening of its ninth Ministerial Conference on Women’s Affairs in Islamabad, even though no representatives of the Taliban administration attended the meeting.
The two-day conference opened on Sunday with approximately 190 delegates from the OIC’s 57 member states participating.
No Taliban officials are attending the conference, and none of the OIC member states has formally recognized the Taliban administration as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
According to sources familiar with the preparations, conference organizers also invited the Taliban to nominate a female representative to participate in the meeting. However, because there are no women serving in official positions within the Taliban administration, no representative was sent.
The composition of participating delegations reflects the prominent role of women in many OIC member states, with several countries represented by female ministers, vice presidents and other senior government officials.
The situation of Afghan women is among the conference’s principal agenda items. Since returning to power, the Taliban have barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade, prohibited women from studying at universities and imposed broad restrictions on women’s employment and public participation.
The Taliban say these policies are based on their interpretation of Islamic law. The OIC, however, together with many of its member states, has repeatedly called on the Taliban to remove restrictions on women’s education and employment while continuing to engage on humanitarian issues related to Afghanistan.
