UNITED NATIONS: The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan must immediately release activists detained for advocating for girls and women’s rights, according to the UN Human Rights Office, which expressed concern about the ongoing arrests.
Since the beginning of the year, several civil society activists and journalists have been detained for speaking out against Taliban policies restricting women and girls’ access to education, work, and most other public life. In a statement issued in Geneva, OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence stated that no one should be detained for speaking out in defence of their fundamental rights or the rights of others. He said that arresting or detaining people for exercising fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, is arbitrary under international human rights law. The statement follows the latest arrest, which occurred on Monday, according to the OHCHR.
Unidentified individuals in an unmarked vehicle detained Matiullah Wesa, the head of PenPath, a civil society organization campaigning to reopen girls’ schools. His current location is unknown. The same people broke into Wesa’s house the next day and kidnapped two of his brothers, who were released several hours later. According to the OHCHR, other activists and journalists have also been detained, with no clear information regarding their whereabouts, well-being, or any charges filed against them. Laurence stated that “detainees’ human rights must be respected, particularly the right to be informed of the reason for their arrest at the time of their arrest, the right to be promptly informed of any charges against them, and the right to visit family members and friends.
He reminded everyone that Afghanistan is a signatory to international human rights treaties. As a result, Taliban leaders must respect and protect the rights to free expression, opinion, and peaceful assembly, as well as provide access to education and the right to work. The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, effectively prohibiting girls and women from studying or working. Earlier this month, the UN Special Representative in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, told the Security Council that Afghanistan remains the “most repressive country in the world” for women’s rights.
Pakistan, for its part, has urged Afghanistan’s interim government to lift restrictions on women and girls in the country. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated earlier this month at a press conference on the outcome of the Women in Islam Conference in New York that the actions against Afghan women and girls are not the norm in the Muslim world.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto stated that no other country, Muslim or otherwise, condones denying women and girls the right to an education.
