At UNHRC meet, India pushes to save dwindling women's rights in Afghanistan

An urgent debate regarding the human rights situation of women and girls in Afghanistan was held at the 50th session of the United Nation Human Rights Council on July 1, where India has called for the protection of rights of women and girls, including their right to education.

At The UNHRC session, which is being held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 13 to July 8, Ambassador Puneet Agrawal said, "The situation of human rights in Afghanistan calls for ensuring the protection of rights of women and girls in Afghanistan."

"We also urge the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to make all efforts to ensure that the rights of women, children and minorities are respected and preserved," he added.

The Ambassador expressed his condolences to those impacted by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan and also stated that as a true friend of Afghanistan, India has dispatched 27 tons of emergency relief assistance in two flights, for the people of Afghanistan.

Agrawal also stated that given the strong linkages between the two countries, India India is deeply concerned about the recent developments in Afghanistan, which directly impact the well-being of women and girls.

"There has been an increasing attempt towards removing women from public life in Afghanistan. We join others in calling for ensuring the protection of rights of women and girls, including their right to education, and to ensure that the long-fought gains of the last two decades are not reversed," he added.

He pointed out that Resolution 2593 of the Security Council, as well as later resolutions, most recently Resolution 2626, provided a clear vision of what the international community expected for the future of Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, women & girls 'being written out of society'

On June 23, speakers at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) stated that Women and girls in Afghanistan are being denied their most basic human rights, employment and education, despite the country's deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions.

After the Taliban took control of the country in August last year, have increasingly limited the practice of basic human rights, including freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of thought and speech, stifling opposition, and limiting civic space.

"Women are collectively being written out of society in a way that is unprecedented in the world," said Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and officer-in-charge of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). 

(With inputs from ANI)