UN urges Taliban to reverse ‘terrible’ restrictions on women

The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on the Taliban to reverse policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, expressing alarm at the “growing erosion” of human rights in the country.

The 15 members of the UN Security Council they said in a statement that they were “deeply alarmed” by increasing restrictions on women’s education, and called for “the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.”

The Council urged the Taliban to “reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represent a further erosion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsPresident Volker Türk urged the Taliban to end “terrible restrictions” on women in Afghanistan.

“No country can develop — or survive — socially and economically when half its population is excluded,” Türk said in a statement.

“These unimaginable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, will pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s borders.”

In this regard, he warned that the policies implemented by the Taliban, which returned to power in August 2021, risk destabilizing Afghan society.

In recent months, the Taliban government has tightened its grip on women, excluding them from numerous public jobs and prohibiting them from accessing parks, gardens, gyms or public baths. Nor can women travel alone, access universities or secondary schools.

The Taliban government on Saturday banned non-governmental organizations from employing women, under threat of losing their authorization to operate in the country.

This latest Taliban decision was also condemned by the UN Council: “These restrictions contradict the commitments assumed by the Taliban with the Afghan people, as well as the expectations of the international community,” he said.

The general secretary of the HIMAntonio Guterres, echoed the message of the Security Council and described the latest restrictions on women and girls as “unjustifiable violations of human rights” that “must be revoked”.

The Afghan authorities claimed that they did not respect the dress code, which requires them to cover their faces and entire bodies. According to Volker Türk, such a decree “will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghans,” he emphasized.

The new restriction imposed on NGOs “will significantly undermine, if not destroy, the ability of these organizations to deliver essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend,” Türk lamented.

At least five organizations announced on Sunday that they were suspending their work in Afghanistan due to a Taliban ban.

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