How can European governments help? Estonia's president on Afghanistan

When it comes to Afghanistan, “we are going to do what our contacts and our allies on the ground ask us today to do,” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid told Devex.

Over the weekend, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan as the U.S.-backed government fell. Several countries, including Estonia — which, alongside Norway, is a “penholder” for Afghanistan at the United Nations Security Council in 2021— are supporting evacuation efforts.

“It's a sad story we didn't expect,” said Kaljulaid, whose new role as global advocate for Every Woman Every Child focuses on “inspiring and mobilizing” the international community to tackle the health challenges that women, children, and adolescents face. “Everywhere in Europe, in every country, governments are sitting together and talking [about] what we can do.”

She added, “I hope that the promises which have been made will be kept and that there will be a possibility to continue a safe life for women in Afghanistan.”

In line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Every Woman Every Child’s strategy aims to see its target groups realize their health rights, access social and economic opportunities, and participate in shaping “prosperous and sustainable societies.”

Under previous Taliban rule — spanning 1996 to 2001 — Afghan women and girls had limited freedoms. They mostly couldn’t work or attend school after the age of 8, were required to wear burqas, and had restricted access to health care.

“My heart goes out to women and girls who are worried [about] whether they can continue to go to school and to go to the doctor,” Kaljulaid said.

In their first press conference since taking power, the Taliban stated that the rights of women would be respected “within the framework of Islamic law.”

In Afghanistan and other places affected by conflict, ambitions should be lowered for the Every Women Every Child agenda but not be left behind entirely, Kaljulaid said.

Kaljulaid’s top priority is ensuring every child is officially registered so they can avoid being forced into work, early marriage, statelessness, or other undesirable situations. According to UNICEF, around a quarter of children under the age of 5 globally have not had their births recorded, despite its recognition as a human right.

In Afghanistan, data from 2015 revealed that fewer than half of babies — male and female — had their births registered.

Kaljulaid said progress will rely on working with Red Cross and other organizations that are able to operate in this kind of location. “When things really collapse, we have to rely on those who are able to talk to and negotiate at least the bare minimum,” she said.