The United Nations has publicized that since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls and has deprived of many of their basic rights.
In a statement issued on the International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, the U.N. mission noted that Afghanistan’s new rulers have shown an almost “singular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homes.”
The Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power in August 2021 despite initial promises of a more moderate stance.
They have banned girls’ education beyond sixth grade and women from public spaces such as parks and gyms.
Women are also proscribed from working at national and international nongovernmental organizations and ordered to cover themselves from head to toe.
Roza Otunbayeva, special representative of the U.N. Secretary-general and Head of the mission to Afghanistan, averred, “Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women’s rights.”
“It has been distressing to witness their methodical, deliberate, and systematic efforts to push Afghan women and girls out of the public sphere.”
Roza Otunbayeva
The restrictions, especially the bans on education and NGO work, have drawn fierce international condemnation.
However, the Taliban have shown no signs of backing down, claiming the bans are temporary suspensions in place allegedly because women were not wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, correctly and because gender segregation rules were not being followed.
As for the ban on university education, the Taliban government has said that some of the subjects being taught were not in line with Afghan and Islamic values.
According to the statement, 11.6 million Afghan women and girls are in need of humanitarian assistance. However, the Taliban are further undermining the international aid effort through their ban on women working for NGOs.
Colossal Act Of National Self-Harm
Moreover, Roza Otunbayeva opined that confining half of the country’s population to their homes in one of the world’s largest humanitarian and economic crises is a “colossal act of national self-harm.”
“It will condemn not only women and girls, but all Afghans, to poverty and aid-dependency for generations to come. It will further isolate Afghanistan from its own citizens and from the rest of the world.”
Roza Otunbayeva
The U.N. mission to Afghanistan also said it has recorded an almost constant stream of discriminatory edicts and measures against women since the Taliban takeover.
For instance, women’s right to travel or work outside the confines of their home and access to spaces is largely restricted, and they have also been excluded from all levels of public decision-making.
At a carpet factory in Kabul, women who were former government employees, high school or university students now spend their days weaving carpets.
“We all live like prisoners, we feel that we are caught in a cage,” said Hafiza, 22, who goes only by her first name and who used to be a first-year law student before the Taliban banned women from attending classes at her university.
“The worst situation is when your dreams are shattered, and you are punished for being a woman,” she added.
18-year-old Shahida, who also uses only one name, divulged that she was in 10th grade at one of Kabul high schools when her education was cut short.
Alison Davidian, the special representative for U.N. Women in Afghanistan, iterated, “The implications of the harm the Taliban are inflicting on their own citizens goes beyond women and girls.”
No officials from the Taliban-led government were immediately available for comment.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet later on Wednesday with Roza Otunbayeva and women representatives from Afghan civil society groups.
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