The Kabul Tribune (KT) — France on Monday condemned the Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan and said it would not consider normalizing relations with the Taliban as long as they fail to meet their international obligations on human rights, counterterrorism and inclusive governance.
The statement by France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign
Affairs came on the fifth anniversary of the Taliban's seizure of power in
Afghanistan. France said the country continues to face a worsening
humanitarian, economic and security crisis that also threatens regional
stability.
France said the rights and freedoms of Afghans, particularly
women and girls, have continued to deteriorate under Taliban rule. It said
women and girls remain excluded from secondary and higher education and accused
the Taliban of introducing increasingly discriminatory laws and measures aimed
at removing women from public life.
France also condemned what it described as a "brutal
crackdown" in Herat and said the treatment of women and girls had gone
beyond discrimination to become a system of gender-based oppression.
"France utterly condemns these very serious human
rights violations and calls on the Taliban to comply with their international
obligations," the ministry said.
At the same time, France said it would continue supporting
the Afghan people through humanitarian and development assistance.
France has supported the French Medical Institute for
Mothers and Children in Kabul since 2021 and funds several nongovernmental
organizations working in Afghanistan, particularly on programs for women and
children. In 2025, those programs provided more than 100,000 free medical
consultations, treatment for acute malnutrition to more than 3,000 children
under 5 and educational services for 35,000 girls, according to the ministry.
France said it has also carried out six humanitarian aid
deliveries to Afghanistan since 2021. The most recent, in April 2026 and
conducted in partnership with Qatar, delivered nearly 100 tons of essential
humanitarian supplies, particularly medicines, to help combat child
malnutrition.
France also said it was working to address accountability
for serious rights violations in Afghanistan. Along with European partners, it
supported the creation by the U.N. Human Rights Council of an independent
international mechanism to document and investigate serious crimes in
Afghanistan, including violations of the rights of women and girls.
The French government said it was working to make the
mechanism operational as soon as possible.
France also highlighted its efforts to provide educational
opportunities for Afghans who have been deprived of education under Taliban
restrictions. In 2025, 23 Afghan students, including 16 women, were studying in
France on French government grants. Twelve additional grants have been awarded
in 2026, nine of them to women, according to the statement.
France said it has also welcomed more than 17,000 Afghan
women and men since 2021 who were threatened because of their links to France
or their commitment to the country.
The statement reaffirmed France's support for the U.N.
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and its new special representative, Rabab
Fatima.
France said its position on relations with the Taliban
remained unchanged.
"No normalization of relations with the Taliban can be
envisaged as long as they do not comply with their international
obligations," the ministry said, citing obligations under U.N. Security
Council Resolution 2593 on human rights, the fight against terrorism and
inclusive governance.
The statement was issued Aug. 15, 2026, marking five years
since the Taliban seized Kabul as U.S. and allied forces withdrew from
Afghanistan.
