China and Iran have urged neighboring municipality Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education.
The appeal came in a joint statement released Thursday following a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during which the two sides affirmed close economic and political ties and their rejection of Western standards on human rights and democracy .
Since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade and forced out those holding elected office and other senior positions.
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“The two sides … called on Afghan leaders to form an inclusive government in which all ethnic and political groups effectively participate, and to reverse all discriminatory measures against women, ethnic minorities and other religions,” it reads in the statement, adding that the United States and its NATO allies “should bear responsibility for the current situation in Afghanistan.”
The United States had backed Afghanistan’s elected government against the Taliban, but withdrew due to rising costs and dwindling domestic support for a government that was unable to thwart a Taliban resurgence.
The call for women’s rights is notable coming from Iran’s strict Shia Muslim regime, which has been challenged by months of protests sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody for allegedly violating dress requirements.
Visiting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, right, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, February 14, 2023. (Yan Yan/Xinhua via AP, File)
The country’s theocracy has executed at least four men since demonstrations began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini. All faced internationally criticized trials, swift and behind closed doors.
Most of the China-Iran joint statement emphasized strong political and economic ties, the pursuit of peace and justice in the Middle East, and denuclearization despite Tehran’s alleged drive to produce atomic weapons.
In a previous meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and calls for democratic self-rule in Taiwan.
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China and Iran present themselves, together with Moscow, as counterweights to American might, and have given tacit and, in Iran’s case, material support to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“China supports Iran in safeguarding national sovereignty” and in “resisting unilateralism and bullying,” Xi said in a statement reported by China’s state TV on its website.
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Xi and Raisi have participated in the signing of 20 cooperation agreements, including on trade and tourism, the Chinese government announced. These come in addition to a 25-year strategic agreement signed in 2021 to cooperate in the development of oil, industry and other fields.
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and a major source of investment.
Iran has struggled for years under trade and financial sanctions imposed by Washington and other Western governments. The US government cut off Iran’s access to the network connecting global banks in 2018.
