Women senators from Afghanistan say they want US troops out of their country andwill not mind having the Taliban in the government if they respected the constitution

NEW DELHI (TIP):Women senators fromAfghanistan have said they wanted US troopsout of their country and would not mind havingthe Taliban in the government so long as theyrespected the constitution.”We want the US out of Afghanistan, but asfar as Taliban is concerned, any one who is aresident of Afghanistan can be a part of thegovernment, if they respect the constitutionand women’s rights,” said Tayeba Zahidi,member of the upper house of Afghanistan,during an interaction with Indian journalists atthe Indian Women’s Press Corps.

US PresidentBarack Obama has vowed that by the end of2014, the US war in Afghanistan would end, andUS troops would be pulled out.Senators from Afghanistan’s upper house arein India to participate in a training programmeorganised by the Bureau of ParliamentaryStudies and Training here. The senators saidthe incidents of the last few decades inAfghanistan have affected women, who havefought back and are emerging into their ownagain. “In past 35 years, lots of incidents haveoccurred which have affected women. ButAfghan women have fought back.

Ourparliament and legal structure is fighting to ridsociety of violence and make things safe forwomen,” Sediqua Balbhi, another member ofAfghanistan’s upper house said. The womensaid more and more women are now gaining aneducation in Afghanistan.”Education plays an important role inempowering women. More and more girls arenow being enrolled in schools, completingcollege and also doing PhD degrees,” said NajibaHussaini.Women were barred from educationand work during the rule of the Taliban inAfghanistan, which started in 1996 and endedDec 2001.