In Afghanistan, women & girls 'being written out of society' by Taliban, experts tell UNSC

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, speakers told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on June 23, as they examined the Taliban's restrictive policies since they took control of the country in August last year. The Taliban, the country's de facto authority, 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), briefing the Security Council via video-teleconference.

These restrictions, he emphasised, attempt to limit the participation of Afghan women and girls in social, political, and economic life, including the ban on further study for girls and the decision to require women to wear facial coverings. He also stated that UNAMA will continue to speak out and be visible in order to protect the rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls. Yalda Hakim, foreign correspondent and news presenter for BBC News, stated that she was speaking to the Council as a "daughter of Afghanistan" with a personal and profound connection to the country.

Afghanistan 'only country' to have ban on girls' education

She further noted that Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls are prevented from getting education, locked out of their classrooms, simply because of their gender. "Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls are prevented from getting an education, locked out of their classrooms, simply because of their gender", she added while highlighting that education is an essential human right, not a privilege.

According to Yalda Royan, Consultant for VOICE Amplified, the Taliban have proclaimed over 30 policies aimed at methodically removing women from all sectors of society and enforcing them through violence. The Taliban tortured and murdered a midwife in Mazar-e-Sharif in April, amputating her legs, stabbing her, and shooting her 12 times – all because she was a woman and a Hazara.

Image: AP