Khalilzad’s Kabul Trip Normalizes Taliban’s Gender Apartheid Under the Guise of Diplomacy

KABUL (Kokcha.News) — Mohammad Amin Ahmadi, a former member of the Afghan government’s negotiation team and a religious scholar, has criticized Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, for what he calls the “normalization of gender apartheid” under the Taliban regime.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Ahmadi stated that Khalilzad, during the Doha negotiations, framed women’s rights as part of the United States’ strategic interests. However, he argued that Khalilzad has now abandoned his moral responsibility toward Afghan women by accepting the “realities of the Taliban.”

Ahmadi emphasized that Khalilzad’s actions represent a “shift from symbolic defense to practical endorsement” of the Taliban’s policies. He likened this approach to the mindset of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who sacrificed human values to consolidate power.

The scholar added that such trips do not contribute to peace but instead perpetuate the structural oppression of Afghan women and girls.

Ahmadi’s comments come amid Khalilzad’s visit to Kabul as part of an official U.S. delegation to meet with Taliban officials. While Washington insists that the trip does not signify formal recognition of the Taliban, some view it as a sign of a shift in U.S. diplomatic strategy toward Afghanistan.

This criticism also echoes past controversies, including remarks by Khalilzad’s wife, Sheryl Benard, who downplayed the plight of Afghan women as a “cultural challenge” rather than “systematic oppression,” sparking widespread international backlash and outrage among women’s rights activists.

Ahmadi’s critique highlights that any conciliatory approach toward the Taliban could be interpreted by the Afghan public as legitimizing the severe restrictions imposed on women. This situation puts additional pressure on Western policymakers to balance the need for political engagement with the preservation of fundamental human rights principles.