According, to the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the international world would find it “nearly impossible” to recognize the Taliban administration, as long as limitations on women and girls continue to persist.
Roza Otunbayeva addressed the United Nations Security Council that, the Taliban had demanded to be recognized by the United Nations and its member states, “but at the same time they act against the key values expressed in the United Nations Charter.”
“In my regular discussions with the de facto authorities, I am blunt about the obstacles they have created for themselves by the decrees and restrictions they have enacted, in particular against women and girls. We have conveyed to them that as long as these decrees are in place, it is nearly impossible that their government will be recognized by members of the international community.”
Roza Otunbayeva, UN Envoy To Afghanistan.
Since taking office in August 2021, when U.S and NATO forces withdrew their two-decade-long occupation in the country, the Afghanistan Taliban administration has not been formally recognized by any foreign state or international organization.
The Taliban previously pledged a more progressive administration than their predecessors from 1996 to 2001, but has now begun to impose limitations on women and girls, including prohibiting women from most jobs and public venues. Girls are likewise barred from continuing their education past the sixth grade.
The Taliban has also reinstated their rigorous application of Islamic law, which includes public flogging, stoning, and public executions.
Otunbayeva claimed that, restrictions on women and girls had not changed, despite calls from the international world to review the ban. Also, the Taliban in April, instituted an embargo on Afghan women working for the UN. Otunbayeva stated that, the Taliban had provided her no reason for the prohibition and “no assurances that it will be lifted.”
“It is also clear that these decrees are highly unpopular among the Afghan population. They cost the Taliban both domestic and international legitimacy while inflicting suffering on half of their population and damaging the economy.”
Roza Otunbayeva, UN Envoy to Afghanistan.
She again said that, the UN is “adamant” that, female local workers will not be substituted with male staff, “as some Taliban authorities have suggested.”
However, restrictions imposed on Afghan women operating for the UN, was denounced as “unprecedented in the history of the United Nations” in a resolution that the Security Council unanimously adopted. The resolution also urged the Taliban to promptly lift the increasingly severe restrictions placed on women and girls.
The UN official also informed council members that, the Taliban leadership “remains insular and autocratic,” with “an unaccountable central authority” and an all-male leadership based almost solely on Pashtun and rural support.
In addition, extreme family poverty is a major problem in the country, as 58 percent of people “struggles to meet their basic needs.” Though, the country’s economy has now been stable pertaining to inflation and currency rates. The UN envoy claimed that, it was partly due to a decrease in corruption.
In her closing remarks to the council, Otunbayeva stated that, the UN in Afghanistan has been negotiating with the Taliban leaders of the nation, but added that if limitations on women are abolished, much more could be accomplished.
“We could do much more, however, if the Taliban rescinded its punishing restrictions on its female population,” she said.
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