A group of United Nations experts said on Friday (November 25) that the way the Taliban are treating Afghan women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity.
The assessment by the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett and nine other experts says the treatment of women and girls may amount to “gender persecution”.
They say that the Taliban’s targeting of women and girls deepens “flagrant violations of their human rights and freedoms that are already the most draconian globally and may amount to gender persecution — a crime against humanity”.
Last year in August, the Taliban regained control of Kabul from the Western-backed government, with a vow of rebranding themselves, also attempting to improve foreign relations and boost trade and the economy.
However, it appears that the Taliban 2.0 is quite similar to their previous version. And per the analysts, the new version of the Taliban is not willing to make significant changes to its extremist ideology.
Their latest decisions, especially relating to women and their freedom, indicate that the Taliban are far away from changing its harsh social policies.
After taking control, they said that they respect women’s rights as per their interpretation of Islamic law, and ever since, a majority of women who work for the government have lost their jobs. There are also restrictions regarding women’s mobility, education, schooling for young girls, attire, etc.
The UN experts said in a statement: “In recent months, violations of women and girls’ fundamental rights and freedoms in Afghanistan, already the most severe and unacceptable in the world, have sharply increased.”
“Confining women to their homes is tantamount to imprisonment and is likely leading to increased levels of domestic violence and mental health challenges,” the statement added.
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