UN calls on Taliban to end discrimination against women and girls
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed
On 20 January, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed and other UN women on a fact-finding mission in Afghanistan called upon Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership to put the good of the country first and end recent policies towards women and girls that have confined them in their own homes, and violated their basic human rights.
In meetings with de facto authorities in Kabul and Kandahar they directly conveyed their alarm over the recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations, a move that undermines the work of numerous organizations helping millions of vulnerable Afghans.
“My message was very clear”, Amina Mohammed said. “While we recognize the important exemptions made, these restrictions present Afghan women and girls with a future that confines them in their own homes, violating their rights and depriving the communities of their services. Our collective ambition is for a prosperous Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbours, and on a path to sustainable development. But right now, Afghanistan is isolating itself, in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis and one of the most vulnerable nations on earth to climate change. We must do everything we can to bridge this gap.”