UN calls on Taliban to lift restrictions on women

BERLIN (AP) — The UN Security Council on Tuesday denounced growing restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, urging the country’s Taliban leaders to roll them back immediately.

The Security Council “reiterated its deep concern over the suspension of schools beyond the sixth grade and its call for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”, it said in A press release.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker, has pointed to the “terrible consequences” of a decision to ban women from working for non-governmental organisations.

Last week, Taliban authorities halted university education for women, sparking international outrage and protests in Afghan cities. On Saturday, they announced the exclusion of women from NGO work, a move that has already prompted four major international aid agencies to suspend operations in Afghanistan.

“No country can develop – in fact survive – socially and economically if half of its population is excluded,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement released in Geneva. . “These unfathomable restrictions on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s borders.”

“This latest decree from the de facto authorities will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people,” Türk said, adding that banning women from working for NGOs would deprive them and their families of income and life. right to “contribute positively”. to the development of the country.

“The ban will significantly undermine, if not destroy, the ability of these NGOs to provide essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend,” he said.

Although they initially promised a more moderate rule respecting the rights of women and minorities when they came to power last year, the Taliban have largely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia.

They banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most jobs, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gymnasiums.

“Women and girls cannot be deprived of their inherent rights,” Türk said. “Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed – it will only harm all Afghans, aggravate their suffering and hamper the country’s development.”