The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its “grave worry” over the ban imposed by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban on women attending universities or working for assistance organizations in the country.
Last week, an Islamist group issued orders that all local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should stop allowing their female employees to come to work, and they also ordered the suspension of university education for all female students in the country. These orders were met with widespread condemnation from the international community.
The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on Tuesday in which it voiced its “deep concern” and made a plea for “the full, equitable, and meaningful engagement of women and girls in Afghanistan.”
In addition to this, it encouraged the Taliban to change its policies, stating that they “reflect an increasing deterioration for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Following the hardline Islamist group’s takeover of the country in August 2021, the Taliban have been brutally cracking down on the freedoms of Afghan women. The new restrictions reflect yet another step in this terrible crackdown on the liberties of Afghan women.
In spite of the fact that the Taliban consistently asserted that they would defend the legal rights of girls and women, the organization has actually taken steps in the opposite direction, eroding the freedoms that women have laboriously fought for over the course of the previous two decades.
Education has been subject to some of the most severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban, with girls being prevented from attending secondary schools after they were expelled in March. Many students and their families were left in shambles as a result of the move, and some of them spoke to CNN about their broken hopes of one day becoming physicians, teachers, or engineers.
As a result of the restriction placed on the employment of women by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), at least half a dozen of the largest international humanitarian organizations have announced that they will temporarily halt their work in Afghanistan.
According to the statement issued by the UN Security Council, the restriction on NGOs would have an effect on humanitarian activities in the nation, including those conducted by the UN.
According to the United Nations Security Council, “these restrictions go counter to both the expectations of the international community as well as the assurances made by the Taliban to the Afghan people.”
Putting up tweets on Twitter On Tuesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, referred to the restrictions as “unjustifiable human rights breaches” and stated that they must be lifted.
“Actions to exclude and silence women and girls continue to create great misery and big setbacks to the potential of the Afghan people,” he stated.