The UN-led meeting with the Taliban scheduled to take place in Qatar on June 30 has met with strong criticism from Afghan and international activists for excluding women.
The two-day conference will see the participation of special envoys from 25 countries hoping to engage the Taliban on issues including the economy, aid, narcotics and security.
The absence of women, however, will undermine any meaningful discussion, Afghan women activists have said.
“I don’t have words to express my frustration,” said Fawzia Koofi, a former Afghan parliamentarian and women’s rights activist. “Because the same institution that is supposed to protect world order, justice and dignity of human beings is betraying us this time.”
Since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have severely restricted women’s rights and freedoms including a ban on higher education, employment, public and political participation and even imposed control on movement.
“Yet again, they [the UN] are going along the same rhetoric that the Taliban have maintained and affirming the Taliban’s actions of excluding women as correct,” Ms Koofi added.
Her concerns were echoed by several Afghan women activists inside and outside the country.
“It’s terrifying,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It's a clear violation of the UN’s Resolution 1325.”
She referred to the UN resolution that requires “women’s equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security”.
“For three years, Afghan women have had their every right violated,” she said. “The women need to be part of this.”
Afghan women living under Taliban rule – in pictures
The absence of Afghan women from the conference had not gone unnoticed, with outrage from prominent leaders around the globe.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who the Taliban shot as she travelled home from school at the age of 15, called the UN’s decision to exclude Afghan women “unacceptable”, in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“It sends all the wrong signals that the world leaders are willing to accommodate the Taliban’s demands and that the girls’ and women’s rights in Afghanistan are not a top priority,” she said.
“There can be no legitimate discussion about Afghanistan's future without women's full participation and leadership,” she said. The Taliban’s “systematic erasure of rights, dignity and livelihoods … amounts to gender apartheid”, she added.
An open letter by the 2024 Global Women Leaders Summit, signed by prominent female political leaders including Hillary Clinton, Julia Gillard and Sanna Marin, among others, called for “Afghan women’s active and direct inclusion” in the talks.
“The international community’s exclusion of Afghan women is outrageous; it will marginalise their voices and undermine their rights,” the letter read. “We must not open a pathway for the Taliban to gain broader legitimacy.”
Allowing the Taliban to dictate the terms of the Doha dialogue “legitimises their draconian abuses, which amount to gender apartheid”, the letter said.
It is the first such meeting that will include the participation of the Taliban, who refused to attend meetings in March this year and in May 2023.
It was reported that the Taliban set conditions for taking part in the Doha 3 conference, including no discussion of human rights issues.
While the Taliban did not confirm this, a statement on their website defended their demands for “conditional participation” in international meetings.
No Bennet
Afghan women activists have pointed out the UN’s own Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, will not be at the Doha meeting.
Mr Bennett recently presented his report to the UN’s Human Rights Council detailing “systematic violations of women’s and girls’ fundamental rights” in Afghanistan.
“The irony is that the UN is comfortable to engage with this notorious group, the Taliban, whose gender persecution and gender apartheid is confirmed by UN’s own special rapporteur,” said Samira Hamidi, an Afghan women’s rights activist.
The UN has not only ignored the voices of Afghan women and girls but has breached it is own principles, she said, adding this is not the first time that Afghan women have been sidelined in discussions concerning them.
“It is important to note that before the collapse [of the Afghan government], the situation was the same,” she said, urging international envoys and other participants to boycott the meeting.
A call for a boycott of the Doha meeting was issued on Monday by the Organisation for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS) a women-led research organisation from Afghanistan featuring voices from more than 100 Afghan women inside and outside the country.
“This UN concession to secure the participation of Taliban de facto authorities is a stark betrayal of Afghan women and of our shared values,” said Mariam Safi, executive director of DROPS, explaining the BoycottDoha3.
The campaign calls for women’s rights to be on the Doha agenda and for women and civil society to be at the table during the Doha meetings.
When women are excluded, “those processes become unsustainable and ultimately fail as we saw with the US-Taliban Doha talks and the Intra-Afghan peace negotiations,” she said, referring to the talks that led to the withdrawal of US forces and the eventual collapse of the Afghan government.
Little support
Though the Intra-Afghan talks had four Afghan women, their representation was inadequate and they received little support from the stakeholders involved and were constantly subjected to discrimination and criticism, Ms Safi said.
Ms Koofi, among the four women who were part of the pre-Taliban peace negotiations, also emphasised the need for women’s participation.
“We [the international community] fail to recognise the relevance between women's participation and how it impacts peace and security, let alone that this is a matter of fundamental human rights enshrined in the UN charter that they need to protect,” she said.
And even if it wasn’t part of the UN charter, Ms Koofi added, “women’s inclusion is crucial to security, economy and other issues” that the stakeholders at the Doha conference hope to achieve.
“Doha meetings will not be considered legitimate or credible by Afghan women’s groups and civil society organisations if women are not on the agenda, women are not at the table,” Ms Safi agreed.
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Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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BEST FILM
- 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
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- JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
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- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae
DIRECTOR
- 1917 - Sam Mendes
- THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
- JOKER - Todd Phillips
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
- SORRY WE MISSED YOU - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
- THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
- PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
LEADING ACTRESS
- JESSIE BUCKLEY - Wild Rose
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Marriage Story
- SAOIRSE RONAN - Little Women
- CHARLIZE THERON - Bombshell
- RENÉE ZELLWEGER - Judy
LEADING ACTOR
- LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
- ADAM DRIVER - Marriage Story
- TARON EGERTON - Rocketman
- JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
- JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- TOM HANKS - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
- AL PACINO - The Irishman
- JOE PESCI - The Irishman
- BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
- FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Bombshell
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
- JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
- JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
- LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
- THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- BOOKSMART - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
- KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
- MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho
DOCUMENTARY
- AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
- APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
- DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
- MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
- ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
- RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)
ANIMATED FILM
- FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
- KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
- A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
- TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
CASTING
- JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
- MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
- THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
- THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- AWKWAFINA
- JACK LOWDEN
- KAITLYN DEVER
- KELVIN HARRISON JR.
- MICHEAL WARD
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 1917 - Roger Deakins
- THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
- JOKER - Lawrence Sher
- LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
- THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
- JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
- JOKER - Jeff Groth
- LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin
COSTUME DESIGN
- THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
- JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
- JUDY - Jany Temime
- LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
- THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
- JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
- JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh
SOUND
- 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
- JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
- LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
- ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood
ORIGINAL SCORE
- 1917 - Thomas Newman
- JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
- JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
- LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
- AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
- THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
- THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
MAKE UP & HAIR
- 1917 - Naomi Donne
- BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
- JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
- JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
- ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
BRITISH SHORT FILM
- AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
- GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
- KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
- LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
- THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
- GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
- IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
- THE MAGIC BOAT - Naaman Azh
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
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- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Kalra's feat
- Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
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