KABUL: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said continued restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment are making it difficult for Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to gain international legitimacy, according to The Straits Times, which cited Bloomberg.
Karzai made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg’s “The Mishal Husain Show,” saying he has repeatedly discussed girls’ education and women’s right to work with officials of the Islamic Emirate. He said many Taliban officials agree with his position on the need for women and girls to have access to education and employment, but that the restrictions remain a major obstacle to international recognition.
“Recognition and legitimacy” depend on meeting certain conditions, Karzai said, pointing to repeated calls from the international community and the United Nations for the Taliban to reopen schools to girls and allow women to return to work. The Taliban has barred girls from secondary schools and universities and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s employment and participation in public life since returning to power in 2021. The policies have drawn widespread international condemnation and remain a central obstacle to deeper diplomatic engagement with Kabul.
Russia remains the only country to have formally recognized the Taliban government, while a number of countries maintain diplomatic and working relations with Kabul without granting formal recognition. International governments have continued to press the Taliban to change its policies toward women and girls.
Karzai, who served as Afghanistan’s president from 2001 to 2014, has repeatedly criticized the restrictions on girls’ education. In recent remarks, he has called for schools and universities to reopen to Afghan girls and for women to be allowed to contribute to the country’s social and economic development.
The former president also called on Pakistan to pursue what he described as a “civilized relationship” with Afghanistan rather than seeking to weaken its neighbor. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated in recent years, with disputes over border security, militant activity and the movement of Afghan refugees contributing to tensions between the two countries.
Karzai’s comments come as the Taliban seeks to expand diplomatic and economic ties with regional powers while remaining under international pressure over its treatment of women and girls. The United Nations and other international organizations have repeatedly warned that the restrictions are harming Afghanistan’s social and economic development. The International Labour Organization said this week that women’s participation in Afghanistan’s labor force had fallen to about 5% in 2026, down from 16.5% in 2020.
The UNESCO has also reported that about 2.4 million Afghan girls have been denied secondary education since the Taliban returned to power, with the number expected to rise if the restrictions remain in place.
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