Minister Kuipers apologizes for photo with Taliban: ‘Didn’t know who he was’ | Politics

Outgoing minister Ernst Kuipers has apologized for a photo with a Taliban representative. “I didn’t know who this person was at the time,” he wrote X. “This was a mistake, it absolutely should not have happened and I regret it.”

The photo of the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Taliban representative, which was taken at a conference of the World Health Organization WHO, is circulating on social medium X.

The two met at the beginning of November at the WHO World Local Production Forum conference in The Hague. “We are currently investigating how this person was present at this conference,” says Kuipers.

The Taliban have returned to power in Afghanistan since 2021. The movement is known for its strict rules for women. For example, women are no longer allowed to go to the park or the gym and Afghan universities are also off limits to them. In addition, women are no longer allowed to work for NGOs and are only allowed to make long journeys in the presence of a male companion.

“It goes without saying that I do not want to associate myself in any way with this terrible regime: I stand for human rights and women’s rights in particular,” Kuipers writes.