OIC says it will keep talking to Kabul on women's education and work

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) says it will continue its dialogue with the authorities in Kabul on the right of Afghan women and girls to education and work.

Addressing the opening of the 52nd session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad on Saturday, the organisation's secretary-general said: "In Afghanistan, we will continue dialogue with the de facto authorities on the rights of women and girls to education and work, based on Islamic values, and support the humanitarian and economic needs of the Afghan people." He also stressed the rights of children and minorities.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the situations in Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia were challenging and should be at the top of the meeting's agenda, media reported.

According to media reports, no one is representing Afghanistan at the two-day meeting, which ends on Sunday under the theme "Dialogue and Solidarity: Two Essential Pillars for Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development". The OIC did not give details of how Kabul had responded to its calls on girls' education. Iraq took over the OIC's rotating presidency from Türkiye at the session.

Girls in Afghanistan have been barred from school beyond grade six for more than five years, and women remain excluded from universities. The OIC's special envoy for Afghanistan, Tariq Ali Bakheet, recently visited Kabul and later briefed member states' ambassadors on the humanitarian situation and development challenges.