International meeting on Afghanistan goes ahead without the Taliban

The UN hosted a meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha on Sunday and Monday featuring Afghan representatives from around the globe but no Taliban. UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutérres said the Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban government prefers to be known, had presented unacceptable conditions to attend that would “to a large extent be similar to recognition”. For Afghan human rights defender Madina Mahbobi, founder of the women-led Vision Development Organization NGO in Afghanistan, learning to engage with the Taliban is an important step towards addressing the humanitarian crises that are impacting the country the most. Listen to her explain what she means by “engagement” and how dialogue with the Islamic Emirate is already taking place on a local level in Afghanistan in the first episode of our What's Unsaid podcast.