On Monday, a U.N. expert stated that conditions for human rights had deteriorated under the Taliban, citing the “staggering persecution” of women and girls as well as a “descent towards authoritarianism”; Afghan women urged the international organisation to take action.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the condition of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, advocated for significant reforms in the nation.
He stated during a Human Rights Council meeting that the Taliban’s “serious rollback of the rights of women and girls, reprisals against critics and opponents, and a clampdown on freedom of speech contribute to a fall towards authoritarianism.”
The ambassador for the overthrown government in Afghanistan, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, went farther and called the situation there “gender apartheid.”
Mahbouba Seraj, a rights activist, was among the Afghan women who spoke at the same gathering and urged the 47-member council to establish a system to look into violations.
She told the crowded audience of U.N. diplomats in Geneva, “God alone knows what kind of crimes are not being documented.” And because this is wrong, I want that to be reported. World, this is wrong. Please, please, you need to take action.
When she came across a Taliban official in Kabul, the country’s capital, she said she felt invisible to him: “I don’t exist in front of him. Not me. We, the ladies in that nation together. We are not real. He gives us a quick glance before disappearing. We are gone. Do you understand how that feels? To be deleted?”
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the majority of girls’ secondary schools there have been shut down after the group abruptly broke its vow to reopen them in March.
According to Ilze Brands Kehris, assistant secretary-general for human rights, 850,000 girls have dropped out of school, putting them at risk for child marriage and sexual economic exploitation.
The Taliban, a staunchly Islamist organisation whose rule is not recognised by many governments, has declared that schools will remain closed until a plan is developed for their reopening in conformity with Islamic law.
The Geneva-based council created the mandate to keep an eye on human rights abuses in Afghanistan about a year ago. It is being proposed to be renewed by the European Union, and a decision is anticipated by October 7.
Featured Image: Aljazeera.com
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