Restrictions on women in Afghanistan by Taliban receives global criticism at UNGA session

Afghanistan's women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.

New York: The restrictions imposed on the Afghan women under the Taliban regime received heavy criticism from the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, and the Charge d’Affaires of the Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Tolo News reported on Thursday.

Speaking at the Third Committee, 78th UNGA session, the representative of Turkey, Turkis Ismail Aydil, said that the fundamental rights of all Afghans, including the right to education, should be fully respected.

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“We are deeply concerned by the erosion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Afghanistan, in particular, for women and girls who have been imposed severe restrictions. The fundamental rights of all Afghans including, the right to education should be fully respected,” he said.

Aydil also pledged continued assistance to the victims of the earthquake in Herat.

“Turkey will continue to stand by the Afghan people to respond to their humanitarian needs and calls for global efforts toward this end,” Tolo News quoted him as saying.

The Charge d’Affaires of the Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, said at the meeting that restrictions on women erased the gains made by Afghan women over the past two decades.

“Of utmost concern is the impact on women’s and girls’ rights and fundamental freedoms. The Taliban regime imposed systematic discrimination and strict gender-based restrictions, denying women and girls access to education, employment, and public life. These actions erased the hard-fought gains made by Afghan women over the past two decades and undermined their ability to realize their full potential and contribute to economic development. This systemic oppression created a climate of fear, gender persecution and gender apartheid,” Tolo News quoted Faiq as saying.

Meanwhile, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at a press briefing that they continue to support the needy people in Afghanistan with their partners.

“Turning to Afghanistan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that humanitarians are in a race against time to meet the needs of affected communities before winter sets in after the country was hit by three earthquakes. Night-time temperatures have already begun to dip. In addition to people whose homes have been destroyed, many Afghans — including those in Herat City — are sleeping outside out of fear that their homes will collapse with additional aftershocks. We, along with our partners, continue to support the response but much more needs to be done,” Tolo News quoted Farhan Haq as saying.

Notably, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has received strong criticism from across the world for the “gender apartheid” in the country.

Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.

Since the Taliban took over, in the last two years, they have issued over fifty decrees targetting women, highlighted by human rights organizations.

According to Khaama Press, these decrees have highly impacted marginalized women from Afghan society as they enforced such stringent policies.

A startling 80 per cent of Afghan girls and young women, who are of school-going age, are currently denied access to education under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a new report by Care International stated, according to Khaama Press.

It has been more than two years since girls above grade six have been prohibited from attending schools in Afghanistan, and it is unclear when those doors will reopen, Tolo News reported.

Afghanistan remains the only country to ban girls’ and women’s education, resulting in a substantial economic toll of approximately USD 5.4 billion.