More than two-thirds of the UN Security Council, with an 11-15 vote, demanded the Taliban rescind policies and decrees oppressing women and girls on Monday. The statement was read by Guyana’s Ambassador to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
The United Nations has sought increased international communication with the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan during the US and NATO withdrawal last year. It’s important to note that the Taliban, despite being the de facto rulers of Afghanistan, have not been formally recognized by any country since the takeover. The international community has made clear that any relationship with the Taliban is conditional on them lifting policies oppressive towards women and girls.
Earlier this month, the UN published a report highlighting how the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s attire and its requirement for women to have a male guardian are limiting Afghan women’s access to education, employment, health care, and other fundamental rights. Particularly disturbing is the Taliban’s decision to deny girls beyond the sixth grade the right to education, contradicting earlier assurances of a more moderate approach to governance compared with their rule in the late 1990s.
The Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule of Afghanistan was marred by the significant oppression and restriction of women in society. During the following years of the US-supported Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Women and girls were granted much broader freedoms, including access to education and employment opportunities. The US government frequently highlighted the promotion of women’s rights as a key reason for their military presence in the country.
Douglas Chin, a human rights activist from California who has worked extensively with the Afghani women’s robotics team, recently said, “The soul of Afghanistan is forever changed. Regardless of how women may be arrested, imprisoned, beaten, and oppressed, it is now the expectation, the demand, and the right of Afghan women and girls to be educated. The Taliban are a harsh and brutal externality, but the fact is the soul of Afghanistan is forever changed.”
These discussions and the recent demand were made before a UN-convened meeting in Doha, attended by member states and special envoys to Afghanistan to address human rights concerns. The Taliban were invited to this meeting but opted not to attend.