Taliban to consult Ulema to manage Islamic Emirate govt

Kabul [Afghanistan], December 13 : In what may be seen as the Taliban 2.0, the group held a meeting with the Islamic Ulema to consult on how to manage the Islamic Emirate government in the country.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday in Kabul, the spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Zabiullah Mujahid said that the Ulema would share their opinions regarding women's rights with the government, reported Tolo News.
"We need to adjust some government issues with the Islamic values, and therefore the Islamic Ulema will share their views on controversial issues, including women's rights with the government, so we can run the government affairs based on their decision," he said.
Civil activists and specifically women's rights activists expect the meeting to yield good results on women's access to work and education.
They stressed that female Islamic scholars should also be invited to the meeting, reported Tolo News.
"If the decision of the meeting is not in the interest of the people, especially women, then it will not only fail to solve the problems but will intensify the crisis," said Armaghan Malikzada, a women's rights activist.
The Taliban has re-imposed repressive laws and retrograde policies on Afghan women that defined its 1996-2001 rule when they enforced their version of Islamic Sharia law.
When it ruled Afghanistan, the Taliban forced women to cover themselves from head to toe, banned them from working outside the home, severely limited girls' education, and required women to be accompanied by a male relative when they left their homes.
The Islamic Emirate has been questioned by the international community for violating human rights, women's rights, the rights of minorities and of forming a non-inclusive government.