Monitoring Desk
GENEVA: While condemning their “terrible” consequences, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Tuesday urged the Taliban to immediately revisit their policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan.
“No country can develop economically and socially with half its population excluded,” the UN rights chief, Volker Turk, said in a statement.
“These unfathomable restrictions on girls and women will not only increase the suffering of all Afghan people but, I fear, pose a threat beyond the borders of Afghanistan.”
He said the Taliban’s policies risked destabilizing Afghan society.
UN rights chief urges Taliban to ensure women’s respect
“I urge the Taliban authorities to ensure the protection and respect of the rights of all girls and women — to be seen, to participate in, to be heard, and contribute to all aspects of the political, economic, and social life of the country,” said Turk.
On Saturday, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers banned women from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Taliban have suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls.
“This latest decree by the Taliban authorities will have terrible consequences for women and all the people of Afghanistan,” Turk said.
“Restricting women from working in NGOs will deprive them and their families of their incomes and their right to contribute positively to the development of their country.”
The move is the latest blow to women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in 2021.
“The ban will greatly impair, if not destroy,” these NGOs’ capacity to deliver necessary services, Turk said, calling it all the more distressing with Afghanistan in the hold of winter, when humanitarian needs are at their highest.
On Sunday, several foreign aid groups announced they were halting their operations in Afghanistan.
The international community has made respecting the rights of women a sticking point in talks with the Taliban government for its recognition and aid restoration.
“Girls and women cannot be denied their inherent rights,” the UN rights chief said.
