Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram has issued a clarification regarding his remarks on the Pushtun culture, saying that his statement was referring to the “peculiar perspective” of a small minority that caused the restrictions on women.
The envoy had expressed the statement regarding Pashtun culture at the humanitarian briefing on Afghanistan at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
The ambassador further said that he regrets if his remarks were misinterpreted or hurt anyone’s sentiments. He said his statement was not intended to disrespect Pushtun culture. “The Pushtun culture is highly progressive and deserves full respect all across the world,” he explained.
He also urged the international community to play its role in convincing the Afghan government to eliminate these restrictions.
On February 1, 2023, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Munir Akram said that the Afghan government’s restrictions on women have nothing to do with Islam; in fact, it’s the Pashtuns’ culture that requires women to be kept at home.
While delivering a speech at the UN, the ambassador termed the culture of Pashtuns ‘strange’, adding that for ages they are trying to keep women at home.
It is pertinent to mention here that his statement has received backlash on social media, netizens have considered the statement derogatory to Pashtun people and stressed that Pashtuns have been sacrificed by war.
Recently, the Taliban in Afghanistan have sent letters to all private educational institutions and warned them to refuse to register girls for academic sessions. Girls have no access to higher education as the schools for girls above grade six have been shut.
