The meeting between EU officials and the Taliban in Brussels on Tuesday has sparked widespread outrage among Afghan women. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The talks focused on scaling up the deportation of Afghan migrants. Afghan women described the move as "a slap in the face," expressing disbelief that Europe would legitimize a regime that affords birds more protections than women.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, women's rights have been severely curtailed: no schooling beyond age 11, exclusion from jobs and public spaces, and a marriage law that perpetuates domestic violence and child abuse.
The EU had previously condemned these actions, with the European Parliament passing resolutions in 2024 stating that "Afghan women and girls have been subjected to systematic persecution." However, after 20 member states called for pathways to deport undocumented Afghans, the European Commission arranged the meeting.
EU officials claimed the talks focused only on those posing a security threat, but the invitation letter referenced all Afghans without legal status in the EU. Human rights groups accused the EU of bowing to far-right anti-immigration rhetoric.
According to EU data, member states received about 1 million asylum applications from Afghans between 2013 and 2024, with roughly half approved. Numbers have fallen since 2022, but Afghans still made up the highest number of applicants last year, especially in Germany.
A 2025 UN report found that many Afghans returned to the country, mostly by Pakistan and Iran, faced arbitrary arrest, torture, and ill-treatment.
Ashifa Kassam noted that the talks signal a shift in the EU's balance between human rights and security, legitimizing a repressive regime and endangering Afghan women's lives.