By Olubusi Olakayode Nifemi
The Taliban government’s restriction on Afghan women attending university or working for aid organizations has sparked “deep worry,” according to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.
The Islamist group demanded last week that all national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) stop sending their female staff to work and suspend university education for all female students in the nation, actions that have been roundly denounced by the world community.
The UNSC called for “the full, equitable, and meaningful engagement of women and girls in Afghanistan” in a statement released on Tuesday, expressing its “grave concern.”
The Taliban was encouraged to change its practices, which “reflect an increasing deterioration for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” according to the statement.
Following the Taliban’s harsh crackdown on Afghan women’s freedoms after seizing power in August 2021, the new limitations represent another stage in the Taliban’s campaign.
Despite the Taliban’s frequent claims that it will preserve girls’ and women’s rights, the organization has done the exact opposite, taking away the hard-won liberties that women have battled valiantly for over the past 20 years.
The Taliban imposed some of the most glaring restrictions on society, including the ban on girls returning to secondary schools in March.
Many students and their families were upset by the decision, and many spoke to reporters about their crushed aspirations to become physicians, teachers, or engineers.
Following the restriction on female NGO staff, at least a dozen significant international relief organizations have said they are temporarily stopping their operations in Afghanistan.
The UNSC statement stated that the NGO ban will have an effect on humanitarian efforts in the nation, including those of the UN.
The Taliban’s promises to the Afghan people and the aspirations of the international community are both violated by these restrictions, the UNSC continued.
Writing on Twitter Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, stated on Tuesday that the limits “must be abolished” because they constitute unacceptable abuses of human rights.
The potential of the Afghan people continues to suffer greatly as a result of efforts to exclude and silence women and girls, he claimed.
