Sediq Sediqi, former spokesperson for the Presidential Palace under Afghanistan’s former Islamic Republic government, has called on European countries to officially recognize the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid.”
In a post published on X on Saturday, Sediqi stated that European countries should strongly condemn the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions and abuses against Afghan women and must not remain silent in the face of such actions.
He also described the Taliban’s detention of foreign nationals and their use as leverage to secure concessions as “hostage diplomacy,” emphasizing that the international community should reject such practices and ensure they do not go unanswered.
According to Sediqi, the restrictions imposed on the education, employment, and social lives of Afghan women and girls constitute a clear violation of human rights and represent a systematic form of discrimination. He urged the European Union to adopt a practical and decisive stance against the Taliban’s policies and prevent the group from extracting concessions through such measures.
This appeal comes as restrictions on the education, employment, and many social activities of women and girls in Afghanistan remain firmly in place. Domestic and international women’s rights advocates have repeatedly called for these policies to be formally recognized as “gender apartheid.”
Writer:Saeed Sameer
