UN Officials Urge Taliban to Guarantee Fundamental Rights of Afghan Women and Girls
Brahim Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Alexander De Croo, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), met with Taliban officials to demand guarantees for the fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls. Both UN officials emphasized that without full participation of women, sustainable stability and development in the country are impossible.
On Wednesday, 17th of Saratan, UNDP released a report stating that the meeting highlighted the key role of women in family resilience, strengthening social stability, and improving Afghanistan’s long-term situation. According to the agency, women and girls are foundational pillars of families and society, and excluding them from social and economic spheres has far-reaching consequences.
The senior UN officials also called for the full participation of women in social and economic life and stressed the need to enable female humanitarian workers to operate freely. They said female staff must be able to access women and girls, especially returning women, without obstacles to effectively facilitate aid delivery.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, extensive restrictions have been imposed on the education, employment, and social presence of women and girls. These limitations have met continuous reactions from the UN and human rights organizations, which have repeatedly demanded the removal of such constraints and the reintegration of women into educational, professional, and social arenas.
Despite these repeated appeals, the Taliban administration has not announced any fundamental changes to its policies toward women. This remains a significant challenge in its relations with the international community and affects the flow of international aid to Afghanistan.
