A senior UN official in Kabul says that the rise in fighting has reduced hopes for peace talks and that the Afghan government and the Taliban should return to the table of negotiations and end the unprecedented violence.

Lisa Reefke, Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that there is a need for international and regional consensus on Afghan peace to achieve results from it.

“The start of the Afghan peace negotiations in September last year generated hopes that talks will create space for Afghans to come together and negotiate a path to peace,” she said at a gathering of women in Kabul. “Today, action on the battlefield seems to compete with the peace negotiations in Doha.”

She added that women’s presence in the peace negotiations is necessary.

“UNAMA remains committed to supporting the parties within its mandate and in cooperation with all Afghans with the region and with the international community to move the peace process forward,” the UN official said.

Women at the event said that at least 57,000 women have invested in various areas in the last 20 years and have created over 130,000 jobs. They highlighted Afghan women’s abilities and said they can play a good role in the peace process.

“Many of these women have created hundreds of jobs for men and women,” said Manizha Wafiq, the chairperson of women’s chamber of commerce and industry.

“They can rarely travel to some provinces and remote villages to keep contact with farmers,” said Karima Sediqqi, the deputy chairperson of the chamber of commerce of women in the western zone of Afghanistan.

The participants of the event said there is a need for a meaningful role for women in any peace process and their achievements should not be compromised.