Kabul, May 24 -- Recent meetings of prominent Afghan political leaders have been held without the presence of women, which has sparked reactions from activists who said women should be given a role in decision-making about the future of the country, the media reported.

This week two meetings were held with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad -- one with President Ashraf Ghani and another with Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and there were no women present, said the TOLO News report on Friday.

In another meeting, Ghani and Abdullah met with a number of former Mujahideen leaders and some prominent politicians.

No women were present in these meetings either, which were held to discuss the next steps ...