Restrictions on Afghan women: The United Nation's human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the growing restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban regime to reverse them as soon as possible. He pointed to the terrible consequences of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organisations.
Last week, Taliban authorities banned university education for women, which led to international outrage and protests in several cities in Afghanistan.
Earlier on December 24, they announced the exclusion of women from NGO work, a move that already has prompted four major international aid agencies to halt their operations in Afghanistan.
Taliban's decree poses risk beyond Afghanistan's borders: UN
“No country can develop, indeed survive, socially and economically with half its population excluded," Türk said in a statement issued in Geneva.
He further added, "these unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan's borders."
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UN expresses concerns over Taliban's decision to ban women from working for NGOs
According to Türk the latest decree by the Taliban rulers will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people. He further went on to say that banning women from working for NGOs will deprive them and their families of incomes and of the right to “contribute positively” to the country's development.
“The ban will significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend," he said.
Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities when they took power last year, the Taliban have widely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
“Women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights. Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed — it will merely harm all Afghans, compound their suffering, and impede the country's development," Turk added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Taliban have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Notably, women are also banned from parks and gyms.
(With AP inputs)
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