A group of women and civil rights activists have issued a statement criticising the remarks of Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

They accused Otunbayeva of considering Afghan women as "second-class" and "whitewashing" the Taliban during a United Nations Security Council meeting.

In the statement, a number of Afghan women, civil rights, and political activists claimed that Otunbayeva, under "the direction of the United States," invited the Taliban to an international meeting and ignored the situation of the Afghan people, especially women.

The statement reads: "With complete shamelessness and in violation of all existing international and legal norms, Otunbayeva stated that Afghan culture places women in a second-class position, and they will not be present at the third meeting, while whitewashing the Taliban."

On Friday, Otunbayeva reiterated during the Security Council meeting that the Taliban's presence at the third Doha meeting does not equate to normalising or legitimising the group. She emphasized her efforts to establish a consultative process.

Women’s rights activists and international human rights organisations argue that the UN excluded women from the third Doha meeting due to the Taliban’s preconditions.

The Associated Press also reported that the UN representative defended the absence of Afghan women from the Doha meeting.

The third Doha meeting, with the participation of representatives of various countries including the Taliban, will be held over two days. The UN Secretary-General’s representative said at a press conference in New York yesterday that Afghan women will be present on the second day of the meeting.