タリバンも各国代表団も男性だけ　「ソーセージパーティー」に批判

【イスラマバードＡＦＰ＝時事】イスラム主義組織タリバンが実権を握るアフガニスタンの国際社会への受け入れに動く各国当局や支援団体が、タリバン側との協議に男性だけを派遣し、女性を排除していることに批判が出ている。（写真はアフガニスタン・カブールで、写真撮影を阻止しようとするタリバン戦闘員）
　タリバンは８月の実権掌握以降、暫定政権から女性を排除、女性の労働や教育を制限しており、国際社会から批判されている。
　各国政府や支援団体の代表団は、国際社会からの承認を希望するタリバン側と首都カブールで協議しているが、その席に女性の姿はほとんど見られない。

■「ソーセージパーティー」
　国際人権団体ヒューマン・ライツ・ウオッチのヘザー・バー氏は、ハッシュタグ「ｓａｕｓａｇｅｐａｒｔｙ（ソーセージパーティー、男性だけの集まり）」を付けて、タリバンが投稿した代表団との協議の際に撮られた一連の写真を掲載した。
　バー氏はＡＦＰに対し、「各国、特に支援団体は模範とならなければならない」と語った。「男性だけの集まりが普通のことだとタリバンに思わせるべきではない」
　タリバンは外国の代表団との非公開協議の際の写真をソーシャルメディアに多数投稿しているが、女性は一人も写っていない。
　英国のサイモン・ガス首相特使らは１０月、タリバン暫定政権のアブドル・ガニ・バラダル副首相、アブドル・サラム・ハナフィ氏と会談したが、会談場所の豪華な部屋に女性の姿はなかった。
　当局者はＡＦＰに対し、英国側の出席者がいずれも男性だったのは偶然だと説明した。
　パキスタンも、国際社会から支持が得られるようタリバンに助言しているが、外相と情報機関トップがカブールを訪問した際の写真や動画で確認できるのは男性だけだった。
　カタールの首都ドーハで昨年行われたアフガン政府とタリバンとの和平交渉に参加したフォージア・クーフィ氏は「各国指導者は女性の権利について語るのなら行動を伴わなければならない。単なる政治的発言ではなく、信念であることを示さなければならない」と訴えた。
　赤十字国際委員会や国連児童基金（ユニセフ）、国境なき医師団とタリバン側との会談の写真も公になっているが、いずれも代表団は少人数で、偶然全員が男性だったとしている。
　国際赤十字・赤新月社連盟（ＩＦＲＣ）は、代表団の女性メンバーが会談直前に参加できなくなったため、男性だけになってしまったと説明した。
　アフガンは極端な例かもしれない。だが、女性が男性と同席できないのはアフガンに限らない。
　バー氏は「男性しかいない場で女性の権利をめぐる問題について懸念を提起するのは極めて奇妙だ」と述べた。
　こうした批判を受け、国連は、全員女性から成る初の代表団をアフガンに派遣し、タリバン側と女性の教育問題について議論する計画を発表している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/02-13:26）

Global powers and aid groups that have loudly demanded an inclusive Afghanistan under the Taliban are now facing criticism for sending all-male delegations to Kabul to meet the hardline Islamists.
Since seizing power in August, the Taliban have excluded women from their new caretaker government and put restrictions on work and education, drawing condemnation from the outside world.
But female representation has been little better among some governments and aid groups in their meetings in the capital with Afghanistan's new rulers, who are seeking international recognition.
Senior women in your teams should be leading your interactions with the Taliban... Don't exclude women, said Shaharzad Akbar, the exiled head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
In a tweet addressing governments and aid agencies, she called on them to NOT NORMALISE Taliban's erasure of women.
- 'Sausage party' -
Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch created a list, under the hashtag sausageparty, of pictures posted by the Taliban of their meetings with delegations in Kabul.
Foreign countries and especially aid organisations should be leading by example, Barr told AFP.
No one should let the Taliban think that this kind of men-only world that they are creating... is normal.
The Taliban have posted dozens of photos on social media of closed-door meetings with groups of foreign representatives, showing not a single woman.
Among the many meetings highlighted was one earlier this month between British envoy Simon Gass and the Taliban's interim deputy prime ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi, seated on a sofa in a lavish room.
An official told AFP it was a coincidence that the special envoy and head of mission were both men.
Pakistan, which has advised the Taliban on how to win international backing, also posted pictures and video of an all-male group accompanying the foreign minister and intelligence chief to Kabul.
Fawzia Koofi, one of the negotiators in failed peace talks between the then Afghan government and the Taliban last year in Doha, voiced her anger.
As world leaders, when they talk about women's rights, they also need to act. They need to show that they believe in it, that it is not just a political statement, she told AFP.
- Complacency 'not acceptable' -
Even more concerning, Barr said, were the numerous pictures of meetings between the Taliban and humanitarian organisations that seemed to follow the same pattern.
When contacted by AFP, the organisations on her list highlighted their dedication to women's rights and said they strived to include women in meetings with the Taliban.
But several acknowledged holding at least one meeting with the hardline Islamists that included no women.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN children's agency, and Doctors Without Borders explained that on the photographed occasion, they had only sent small delegations of top leaders, who happened to be men.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies meanwhile said a last-minute scheduling change had meant a woman staff member due to take part had been unable to attend, turning one meeting into an all-male event.
The lack of women in such high-level positions shows that while Afghanistan might be an extreme example, it is not the only place where women are being denied an equal seat at the table.
Raising those concerns about women's rights in a room full of all men just seems very strange, Barr added.
The United Nations has since announced its first-ever all-woman mission to Afghanistan, to discuss girls' education with the Taliban.
While never including women in their teams, the group's leaders have met with a number of women, including during the Doha negotiations with the then Afghan government.
Koofi, who has survived two assassination attempts, had first hesitated to join the talks with the militants, who jailed her husband and threatened to stone her for wearing nail polish during their 1990s rule.
But sitting face to face with them had made her feel powerful.
For me, it was important that I make myself visible and my message clear to them, she told AFP in 2019.
Now those with the power to ensure women have a seat at the table are often failing to do so, she said.
Everyone is playing politics.