Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal issued the following statement today regarding a letter sent from Congresswoman Maloney (D-NY) to Secretary Pompeo on the role of women in US-Taliban Peace Talks:

“The Feminist Majority stands with Congresswoman Maloney in working to ensure that Afghan women and girls are not forgotten in efforts to secure a peace settlement.  The ongoing peace negotiations between the Trump Administration’s envoy to Afghanistan and representatives of the Taliban ignore both women and officials from the democratically elected government of Afghanistan.  These exclusions threaten to eliminate the progress of women and girls in the country.  In recent years, with the support of the United States, women have made amazing strides, entering many sectors once prohibited by the Taliban.  Today, women work as doctors and lawyers, serve in the military and in law enforcement, and even hold cabinet positions in the government.  To ensure that women and girls are protected and that they do not lose these hard-fought gains, women must be at the table in negotiations.  We applaud Congresswoman Maloney for her leadership and join her in asserting that women’s rights and human rights are not negotiable in the Afghanistan peace talks.”

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