Thursday briefing: Why EU​-Taliban talks have sparked outrage among Afghan women ​

There is increasing concern over restrictions imposed on women across Afghanistan. Photograph: Francesco Militello Mirto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen There is increasing concern over restrictions imposed on women across Afghanistan. Photograph: Francesco Militello Mirto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Thursday briefing: Why EU​-Taliban talks have sparked outrage among Afghan women ​ In today’s newsletter: Amid rising anti‑immigration rhetoric across Europe, the decision to engage with the Taliban signals a profound shift in how the EU balances security and human rights Good morning. It’s a slap in the face. That’s the phrase I kept hearing – in furious overnight messages, in blazing opinion columns – as Afghan women responded to the meeting between EU officials and the Taliban that took place in Brussels on Tuesday. The talks, to discuss how to scale up the deportation of Afghan migrants, were met with widespread outrage, and disbelief that Europe would countenance offering legitimacy to a regime that affords a bird better protections than a woman . For today’s First Edition, I spoke to our European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam about the reaction to this meeting, what it tells us about European migration policy and the insidious consequences of normalisation. But first the headlines. Five big stories World news | Venezuela’s interim leader has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes that collapsed dozens of buildings and killed at least 32 people, with experts warning the death toll could rise significantly. Heatwave | The UK has broken its all-time temperature record for June and France has recorded its hottest day ever for the second day running, as a heatwave affecting more than 90 million people sweeps across swathes of Europe. UK politics | Donald Trump has labelled Andy Burnham “extremely liberal”, in his first public comments about the former Greater Manchester mayor since he emerged as the frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer. Europe news | The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in France , the country’s health ministry has said, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to an area affected by the outbreak in the DRC. UK news | A little-known system in which US military personnel are tried through a court martial for alleged crimes committed in the UK is under growing scrutiny . In depth: ​‘Our suffering​ doesn’t amount to anything​’ View image in fullscreen Women and girls in Afghanistan have faced growing oppression in the last five years since the Taliban returned to power. Photograph: Qudratullah Razwan/EPA In the five years since the Taliban regime swept back to power in Kabul after the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of US and Nato troops, the rights of women and girls have been mercilessly constricted: no schooling beyond the age of 11, exclusion from the job market and public spaces, and a brutal new marriage law that perpetuates domestic violence an