Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to begin by congratulating you on selecting today's witnesses. This panel is especially appropriate in light of International Women's Day.
On that note, yesterday, I was invited to speak at a meeting organized by the Centre de femmes du Haut-Richelieu, the Upper Richelieu women's centre, from my riding. In my speech, I pointed out the following paradox. On the one hand, status of women in Canada and in western countries in general has improved. On the other hand, status of women in some other countries has deteriorated. I used Afghanistan as an example.
This morning, I came across a very interesting article in The Globe and Mail, titled “Gender apartheid cannot be justified in the name of religion”. The article talks about the code of conduct enacted by Afghanistan's Ulema Council. The council is made up of 150 Afghan clerics. The article contains what I see as a rather relevant quote from Oxfam's executive director, Robert Fox, who talked about the code of conduct that plays a role in future male-female relationships in Afghanistan.
Mr. Fox said the following:
While the code is now legally binding, it comes at a critical time for Afghan women. Many are already concerned about the future, especially if peace talks with the Taliban move ahead.
I would like to hear what our experts think about the risk of the status and living conditions of Afghan women deteriorating if the talks with Taliban authorities do not advance.