Taliban Claims Women’s Rights Secured Amid UN Report Highlighting Concerns

Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, responded to the latest United Nations report by stating that since the Taliban’s return to power, the rights of women and men in Afghanistan have been “ensured.” He added that, according to the Taliban administration, the rights of hundreds of women in the country have been secured—rights that, he claimed, had not been guaranteed in the past fifty years or even earlier. Khyber did not provide details about these rights or how they have been secured.

These statements come as the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed concern about the state of women’s rights in the country in its recent quarterly report. UNAMA emphasized in the report that women’s rights are not being adequately protected.

Over the past three years, the Taliban administration has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women’s education, work, and public presence—measures that have drawn widespread negative reactions both domestically and internationally and have been consistently criticized by human rights organizations. Nevertheless, the Taliban has dismissed these criticisms and maintains that its policies are aligned with Islamic Sharia law.

Periodic reports from the United Nations on the human rights situation in Afghanistan serve as a primary source for the international community’s assessment of the country’s current conditions and often reflect concerns about the fundamental rights of citizens, especially women.