UN deplores deteriorating condition of Afghan women, girls under Taliban rule

Amid the deteriorating situation of Afghan women and girls due to Taliban rule, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said that severe restrictions have been put in place in the country in order to render women "invisible" in society, as the terror outfit has imposed numerous restrictions on women and girls.

The UN special envoy made the remarks during a press conference in New York where he claimed that the fall of the country to the Taliban is worse than what Afghan women and girls went through in 1996, Khaama Press reported.

"There are many restrictions and severe barriers for women and girls who are excluded largely from employment, political and public life with limits on freedom of movement, association, expression and it fits the pattern of gender segregation aimed at making women invisible," Bennett said.

He further noted that there were many obvious examples of discrimination against minorities like Hazaras, Shiites, Sufis, Sikhs, and Hindus in Afghanistan, reported Khaama Press.

As per several statistics, more than three million girls have been denied access to education for 402 days, making the war-torn nation the only country where girls are prohibited from attending school past the sixth grade.

Bennett further deplored the human rights violations in Afghanistan and emphasized his concern about the media, which is also facing ever-increasing restrictions by the Taliban.

Earlier also, UN experts cautioned that Afghanistan's future is "bleak" if more is not done to improve the deteriorating human rights situation, especially for women and girls.Since they took control of the country in August 2021, the Taliban have violated women's and girls' rights to education, work, and free movement and decimated the system of protection and support for those fleeing domestic violence.

The group has also detained women and girls for minor violations of discriminatory rules and contributed to a surge in the rates of child, early and forced marriage in Afghanistan.

Various rights group is calling on the Taliban to implement major policy changes and measures to uphold the rights of women and girls.

Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has been the country's de facto authority. Despite initial public commitments to uphold the rights of women and girls, the Taliban introduced policies of systematic discrimination that violate their rights.

Women and girls across Afghanistan reacted to this crackdown with a wave of protests. In response, the Taliban targeted protesters with harassment and abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, and physical and psychological torture.

( With inputs from ANI )

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