Kabul: Former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has said that the Taliban have not fulfilled their commitments on various issues like the education of girls, women's rights, as well as a decision on the national flag, since they took over late last month.
A Khaama News report on Sunday quoted the former leader as saying in a recent interview that during his interactions with the Taliban, he focused mainly on girls' education, women's prestige in the Afghan society, and an all-inclusive government.
He added that the people of Afghanistan "need a government in which they can live without intimidation, fear, have good relations with the world, work for development, and let people live in joy".
"We need a cabinet that represents the entire Afghanistan, women and people from all ethnicities are seen in that, but what the Taliban has declared does not meet the definition, " said Karzai, who has remained in Kabul following the collapse of the Afghan capital to the Taliban on August 15.
Karzai, who was President from December 2001 to September 2014, further said that people are still afraid about the future of their daughters as the so-called monopolised cabinet has increased concerns among the Afghan citizens.
The Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, led by the Taliban directed all secondary schools to resume from September 18, however, the directive only mentions the male students, making no reference to a return date for girls. This is contrary to promises made by outfit after assuming power in Kabul last month.
According to media reports, women are being barred from going to work, and scores of them have demonstrated to demand their rights to employment and education.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recently told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that contradicting the assurances that the Taliban would uphold women's rights, over the past three weeks, women have instead been progressively excluded from the public sphere.
A week ago, private universities and other higher education institutions were reopened but the classes were divided by gender. Many people have decried this move, which is set to deprive girls of higher education as major universities in the country cannot afford to provide different classes due to a dearth of resources.
The Taliban is also allowing only women who could not be replaced by men to report to work. This includes skilled workers in the design and engineering departments as well as female attendants of public toilets for women.
