The Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Naseer Ahmad Andisha, has stated that 41 countries, in a joint declaration at a session of the UN Human Rights Council, have condemned the “systematic oppression and discrimination” against women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
Andisha presented the joint statement on behalf of the aforementioned countries at the Human Rights Council session.
The declaration states that, for the fifth consecutive year, women and girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of their fundamental rights, including education, employment, healthcare services, participation in public life, civic space, and humanitarian assistance.
It further adds that arbitrary arrests, harassment by Taliban “Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” officials, censorship, and violence have become key tools of repression against women and girls.
According to the statement, the Taliban’s discriminatory legal framework, including Decrees 12 and 18, has further intensified the scale of human rights violations against women and girls.
The signatory countries have called for strengthening the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and establishing an independent accountability mechanism. They emphasized that the restoration of women and girls’ rights and the protection of their human dignity must be at the core of international policy and the global response to the situation in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, since the Taliban’s return to power, restrictions on women and girls have steadily increased. Girls have been deprived of secondary and higher education, women have been excluded from many sectors of employment, and recent reports have also emerged of women being detained in some provinces over issues related to dress code and hijab regulations.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
