American actor and United Nations special envoy Angelina Jolie has called for women to have a central role in ongoing Afghanistan peace talks, warning their exclusion would hamper any chance of lasting stability.
Women negotiators must be included in "significant" numbers in talks with the Taliban, the Islamist extremists that came to power in the 1990s and crushed women's rights, Jolie said in an opinion column published in TIME magazine Wednesday.
"Afghan women must be able to speak for themselves," Jolie wrote.
"This means including female negotiators in significant numbers as part of any Afghan government delegation and ensuring formal participation for women's groups representing civil society."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content