Kabul: Repeating the same what the Taliban led Afghatinstan government did in 1990s, the former announced a list of deputy ministers of the cabinet on Tuesday, which has not contained a single woman’s name.
The Taliban did this despite an international outcry when they presented their all-men Cabinet ministers earlier this month.
The list of deputy ministers signals that the Taliban have not been swayed by international criticism and that they’re doubling down on their current hard-line path despite initial promises of inclusivity and upholding women’s rights.
In their previous rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Taliban had barred girls and women from schools, work and public life.
The Taliban have framed their current Cabinet as an interim government, suggesting that change was still possible, but they have not said if there would ever be elections.
The list was presented by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Mujahid defended the expanded Cabinet lineup, saying it included members of ethnic minorities, such as Hazaras, and that women might be added later.
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