New Delhi
Things have come a long way for the world since 1954 when India and China agreed on the so-called Panchsheel agreement. Newly minted cooperation between developing countries was then fashionable in the shadow of colonialism. Sovereignty of countries with the clause of "mutual non-interference" was in vogue as various nations and half-made countries progressed gingerly towards a dignified world order.
It is now time to re-open the "non-interference" clause because it is pertinent to ask if naked aggression (Russia in Ukraine), terrorism (Pakistan as a base for Islamist radicals), suppression of women (Iran and Afghanistan) and denial of basic human freedoms (China) should be bracketed in the 'non-interference' clause that seems rather absurd in the 21st century when there seems to be a broader, deeper global consensus on human welfare. We already have a track record of a stuttering but successful fight against racism in South Africa, which should serve as a pointer to what things can be.
Things have reached a new point of absurdity with the latest ban on university education for women in Afghanistan ostensibly on the ground that the students do not follow an austere Islamic dress code prescribed by the Taliban regime.
Also Read | Afghan women speak to WION as Taliban dismantles their Right to Education campus after campus
There is good and bad news here.
While the bad news is that the United States is now a pale shadow of its superpower self and the European economy is in deep crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the good news (sort of) comes from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, whose governments have stood up to condemn the Taliban. There are, of course, nuances here. Both Riyadh and Ankara have Islamist governments and Saudi Arabia has had its own dismal track record on women's rights.
Saudi Arabia has only recently allowed women to have passports, travel abroad, and live independently without a male guardian. A male relative is still required to give permission for a woman to marry or start certain types of business enterprises.
Turkey is not doing much better. A UN-appointed special rapporteur said this year that officially, around one in four women in Turkey has suffered physical or sexual abuse by their partners and there are hundreds of femicides reported every year.
In such a context, it is interesting to see Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu describing the Afghan ban on university education for women as âneither Islamic nor humane". You could partially attribute this to diplomatic hypocrisy, but equally to the fact that Turkey and Saudi Arabia have strong links with the West in some way or the other -- links that they cannot afford to ruin. Turkey used to be a regular secular republic before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to take the Islamist route. The Saudis have been long-time allies of the West, especially the US, thanks to crude oil exports -- much as that shows warts in Washington's foreign policy that talks of human rights everywhere but not in the places that serve its domineering geopolitical goals or business interests.
Now let us look at the US, weakened by its increasing focus on helping Ukraine and limitations of domestic politics in which President Joe Biden faces carping by right-wing activists even as the fear of a return of Trumpism with its brash, inward-looking approach looms large.
The relatively progressive signals from Riyadh and Ankara are best viewed as silver linings in the cloud. Widespread anti-hijab protests in Iran are also a pointer to how the Islamic thought process is undergoing a sea change. Personally I am sure the Afghan protests against the Taliban's education ban have been inspired or emboldened by events in Iran.
Fissures within the Muslim world as a whole suggest that women's rights is an idea whose time has come. Pakistan, with its hiccupping yet surviving democracy, is also relatively progressive if one looks at the emergence of a new middle class that values the emancipation of women.
This is precisely an opportunity for India and the West to co-engage on the issue. The term "constructive engagement" was once used by US President Ronald Reagan's administration to deal with the apartheid regime in South Africa, but his intentions and actions were both suspect. He used the term more to delay the end of racist rule. We don't quite want that in Afghanistan. What India, with its newfound role in the presidency of the Group of 20 elite nations of the world, needs to do is to offer its diplomatic services as a progressive country with its own track record of helping women's rights and equality.
Admittedly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's track record and philosophy may be criticised when it comes to religious minorities, but his role in women's rights (whatever the political motives) has been credible.
If India aspires to be not just a voice of the "Global South" at the G-20 Presidency but look beyond to seek a higher role in the United Nations, it can craft an engagement matrix on women's rights. The way to do it is to push its own Muslim scholars, intellectuals and thought leaders in the forefront for a new kind of soft diplomacy.
This might enhance Modi's credibility at many levels while giving India a toehold to raise its profile in world affairs. What is clear to me is that the old-world Panchsheel approach of non-interference is passe. Democracy, human freedoms, women's rights, and sustainability must be part of a new order.
This means putting one's domestic politics in order so as to not invite accusations of doublespeak or hypocrisy. But there is little doubt that India has an opportunity to engage as a new, credible interlocutor on the world stage. The flip side of this is that Turkey and Pakistan may oppose or frown at India's new role. However, if the cards are played well, at home and abroad, this can dramatically raise India's stature. A perk would be that India would stand out in contrast to China as well.
Picture it like an Argentina moment for Indian diplomacy, now that we seem to have had big surprises in World Cup football.
(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)
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