“At a time when some are seeking to normalise relations with the Taliban, I urge the international community to remain more mobilised than ever for the full and unconditional restoration of Afghan women’s right to education,” said Audrey Azoulay, chief of the UN’s cultural and educational agency UNESCO.
Around 2.2 million girls are barred from schooling beyond the primary level, according to UNESCO
“Afghanistan sadly stands out as the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly prohibited for girls and women,” Azoulay said.
“An entire generation of Afghan women is being sacrificed,” she said, calling on the international community to “maintain diplomatic pressure”.
The Taliban, who promised a softer rule after retaking power in August 2021, have imposed sweeping restrictions on women, banning them from universities, public parks, gyms and beauty salons – measures the UN has labelled “gender apartheid”.
Russia – not named in the statement – is the only country to have recognised the Taliban government since it seized power in 2021 following the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands announced at the meeting in New York that they had initiated proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague against the Taliban for their “contempt” for women.
“The accusations made by some countries and parties on Afghanistan violating human rights and gender discrimination are unfounded,” Hamdullah Fitrat, a government spokesman, told AFP.
“Human rights are protected in Afghanistan and no one is treated with discrimination. Unfortunately, an attempt is being made to spread propaganda against Afghanistan based on the say of few escaped women.
The Taliban have progressively driven women out of public spaces since their return to power in August 2021.
Women can no longer study beyond primary school, go to parks, gyms or beauty salons, and are advised to leave their homes only with a male chaperone.
A recent morality law also banned women from speaking loudly in public.
The United Nations has labelled the rules “gender apartheid”.
US actor Meryl Streep said on Monday that a “squirrel has more rights” than a girl in Afghanistan.
“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not, and a woman may not in public,” the Oscar-winning actor said during a discussion on the sidelines of the UN gathering.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said the legal action to be launched in the Hague was “an important step towards justice for the crimes of the Taliban against women and girls”.
Bennett, who was refused entry to Afghanistan this year, called on other countries to join the action.
