One of Canada’s “woke” ministers referred to the Taliban as “our brothers” while speaking about the Islamic group’s takeover of Afghanistan during a virtual press conference that was aired on Canadian TV last week.
Maryam Monsef, Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality, left many people scratching their heads after she used what most would consider as a term of endearment to describe an extremist Islamic movement which, in the past 20 years, has played a role in the deaths of more than 2,400 U.S. military personnel.
“I want to take this opportunity to talk about our brothers, the Taliban,” Monsef began. “We ask you to ensure the safe evacuation of all those who want to leave Afghanistan.”
“We call on you to immediately stop the violence, the genocide, the femicide, the destruction of infrastructure, including heritage buildings,” she continued
Needless to say, the woke gender minister’s use of the affectionate expression to describe the Islamist group immediately sparked controversy throughout the United States, Canada, and most of the western world. Some have noted that Monsef’s use of the word “brothers” is especially ironic given her role within Trudeau’s liberal government, and since the Taliban has already started cracking down on women’s rights.
Erin O’Toole, the leader of Canada’s conservative opposition, slammed Monsef’s statement, saying: “The Trudeau government used totally unacceptable language. After six months of inaction by the Trudeau government, there are thousands of Afghans in danger because of their support for our country.”
In the face of widespread backlash, Monsef, who was born in Iran to two Afghan parents before immigrating to Canada, was forced to explain her statement, saying that it’s customary in the Muslim world for men and women to refer to each other as “brothers and sisters”.