The UN expert described the “shocking repression” against women and girls in the country AfghanistanThe UN mission in the country has accused the Taliban government of oppressing its female Afghan workers.
In a statement issued on Monday, the UN mission described an “emerging pattern of oppression by de facto authorities against Afghan women UN staff. Three Afghan women working at the UN were recently detained and interrogated for a short time Taliban armed persons”, the information states.
The UN called for an immediate end to “all such intimidation and harassment targeting Afghan women workers” and reminded local authorities of their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of all UN staff working in Afghanistan.
A statement issued by the Taliban late on Monday denied that local authorities had detained any UN staff.
The incident happened at a time when Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, called for radical changes. “The drastic rollback of women’s and girls’ rights, the crackdown on opponents and critics, and the Taliban’s suppression of freedom of expression represent a descent into authoritarianism,” he told a meeting of the Human Rights Council.
Nasir Ahmad Andisha, the Afghan ambassador representing the ousted government, went further, describing “gender apartheid” in the country.
At the same meeting, several Afghan women, including human rights activist Mahbooba Seraj, spoke, calling on the 47-member council to create a mechanism to investigate abuses.
“Only God knows what atrocities are not being reported,” he told a roomful of UN diplomats in Geneva. “And I want it to be reported because it’s not right. World: that’s not right. Please, please, you have to do something about this.”
A year after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan teenage girls are still not allowed to go to school and women are required to cover from head to toe in public, only their eyes are visible. Despite initial promises, the Taliban-led government is dominated by hardliners, who have placed severe restrictions on girls and women’s education and employment opportunities.
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris said that so far, about 850,000 girls have dropped out of school, putting them at risk of child marriage and sexual economic exploitation.
Taliban authorities in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktiya province on Saturday closed five girls’ schools above the sixth grade that had briefly opened after a recommendation by tribal elders and school principals.
Earlier this month, four girls’ schools in the provincial capital Gardez and one in Samkani district opened without official permission from the Taliban’s education ministry. All five schools on Saturday again closed by the authorities.
The UN has repeatedly called on the Taliban to respect international human rights.
