The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate said that female participants of international meetings on Afghanistan cannot represent Afghan women.

This is the second high-ranking official of the Islamic Emirate in two days to criticize international meetings on Afghanistan.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony of a girls’ madrasa (religious school) in Kabul, the deputy FM Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai said that women’s rights have been protected in Afghanistan.

“Those women who participate in meetings abroad and raise the voices of women--they cannot represent Afghanistan’s women,” said Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy foreign minister.

Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai said that countries cannot progress without modern education and asked for girls’ schools and universities to reopen.

“I reiterate that education doors should not be kept closed and no difference should be made in education. We need men and women in all parts,” added Stanikzai.

In the meantime, teachers and religious scholars asked the female graduates to share their education with others.

It has been more than 880 days since the closure of schools beyond sixth grade for girls, but the Islamic Emirate has yet to decide about reopening schools and universities for girls.