Khalilzad’s wife wants sanctions on IEA eased

KABUL (Pajhwok): Cheryl Benard, the wife of former US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, has argued that denying women’s activities in Afghanistan presents a misleading image of the country.

She asserts that no one should fear returning to Afghanistan and, if the international community genuinely wishes to assist Afghans, it must ease the current sanctions.

Benard made the observations in an article she penned a month after her visit to Kabul.

Earlier in the month, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced the “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) designation for Afghan refugees in the US — which expired on May 20 — would not be renewed and that the approximately 8,000 people affected should prepare to return home.

According to Noem, the decision was based on assessments by her department, in consultation with the US State Department, which concluded the security situation in Afghanistan had improved and that the country’s stabilising economy no longer constituted a barrier to repatriation.

In her article, published in The National Interest, Benard wrote the decision was criticised, immediately and at times histrionically, by the affected Afghans and by NGOs that take care of them.

She commented it was only natural that the refugees would prefer to remain in the United States and continue receiving American taxpayer support for their housing, education and living costs.

She wrote: “Shawn Van Diver of AfghanEvac called the decision “insane” and sarcastically challenged Noem to go to Afghanistan if she thinks it’s so safe. I don’t know how many of these distraught dissenters have been to Afghanistan recently.

“I have, and I would like to issue a message of reassurance. I would also encourage Noem to take Van Diver up on his suggestion. I confidently guarantee her a warm welcome, frank conversations, and interesting insights: just as I experienced last month in Kabul.”

Benard wrote: “I can claim to know Afghanistan well, having been a regular visitor since 2003 and a student of its ups and downs since the Soviet invasion. No one would describe it as -to use President Donald Trump’s measure of merit – the Riviera.

“Not now, but also not during our twenty-year tenure, when violence was high and continuous, corruption was massive and social improvements were limited to the urban elites,” she added.

She acknowledged there was currently no public education available for girls above grade six, calling this “undoubtedly a travesty”.
However, she noted private schools continued to operate at all levels, which could be a viable option for returnees.

Benard also rejected claims made by the Feminist Majority website that Afghan women were entirely excluded from economic activity, leading to economic stagnation.

Benard recalled: “Just walking around Kabul at random, I saw saleswomen in the malls, including the young proprietor of her own perfume shop; female wait staff in restaurants; and most surprisingly to me, women operating their own pushcarts on the streets, selling household goods and seasonal fruit as they navigated the traffic. In rural areas, women always worked in farming and they still do.”

She further disputed Western media claims that women must be fully veiled and accompanied by a male guardian in public.

“Clearly, this is not the case,” she said. “I saw many women walking alone or with female friends, most wearing only a headscarf and no face covering.”

Regarding security and safety in Afghanistan, the wife of Zalmay Khalilzad said Taliban’s two opponents Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah were a good example of safety.

She concluded by arguing that “the Taliban were seeking international legitimacy. If the global fraternity genuinely wanted to support the Afghan people, it should ease sanctions and allow the Afghan economy to breathe, she opined.

kk/mud