The UN rights chief, Volker Türk, issued a warning about the Taliban’s oppressive control over women and girls in Afghanistan, stating that the new morality laws imposed by the Taliban are outrageous and amount to systematic gender persecution. The Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in 2021, have excluded women from public life, banned girls from education beyond the sixth grade, and restricted women’s access to work, travel, and health care. Türk expressed concern about what the future holds for women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule.
The Taliban recently issued new laws that ban women’s voices in public, forbid eye contact between unrelated men and women, and impose mandatory covering for women from head to toe, including their faces. Türk condemned these measures, stating that they reinforce the Taliban’s institutionalized system of discrimination and oppression. He emphasized that the Taliban’s policies are pushing Afghanistan further into isolation, pain, and hardship, with millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated significantly following the Taliban takeover, with millions of people driven into poverty and hunger after foreign aid was cut off. Türk highlighted the urgent need for $4.62 billion in aid to support nearly 24 million people in need. The Taliban’s restrictive policies have worsened the situation, leading to a massive shortfall in funding that is undermining the UN and its partners’ response to the crisis, particularly in addressing the needs of children.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, also criticized the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, noting that the new morality laws are reinforcing sex and gender discrimination, segregation, and oppression. Bennett, who was barred from visiting Afghanistan, described the visible increase in morality inspectors and tightening restrictions on people’s freedom of movement in various provinces. He raised concerns about the impact of these measures on media freedom and the rights of government employees in Afghanistan.
Reports have surfaced about the Taliban’s crackdown on media freedom, with female journalists being barred from working in certain provinces and the state-controlled broadcaster RTA stopping airing in Kandahar province due to morality laws prohibiting the depiction of living beings. The Taliban’s tightening grip on power and enforcement of morality laws are endangering freedom of expression and media rights in the country. Despite these reports, the Taliban have not responded to requests for comment on these issues.
The UN and its partners are facing challenges in providing humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan due to funding shortages and restrictions on access. The plight of children in particular is dire, with millions in desperate need of assistance. The international community must take swift action to address the escalating crisis in Afghanistan, ensure the protection of women and girls, and uphold human rights in the face of the Taliban’s repressive rule. The future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance, and urgent intervention is needed to prevent further suffering and deprivation among the Afghan population.
