GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday unanimously called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to repeal policies restricting the fundamental rights and freedoms of women and girls, warning that the country’s institutionalized discrimination has reached an alarming level.
The 47-member council adopted the resolution without a vote, expressing serious concern over what it described as the “grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression” of women and girls under Taliban rule.
The resolution condemned what the council called the Taliban’s institutionalization of discrimination, segregation and exclusion of women and girls, as well as restrictions affecting their dignity and participation in public life.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 and subsequently introduced a series of measures based on its interpretation of Islamic law. The restrictions have particularly affected women and girls, including limits on employment, access to public spaces and education.
Girls have been barred from attending secondary schools beyond approximately the age of 12, while women have faced restrictions on employment and access to various public places, including parks.
The council said it was deeply concerned by what it described as the continuing and systematic erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan. It said the Taliban had imposed an expanding network of decrees and institutional controls that had affected many aspects of both public and private life.
According to the resolution, the measures have contributed to a society marked by what the council described as “ideological conformity, fear and exclusion.”
The council called on the Taliban to repeal policies and practices restricting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls, including their rights to education, employment, peaceful assembly and political participation.
It also urged the international community to take human rights and fundamental freedoms into account in its engagement with authorities and other stakeholders in Afghanistan.
The resolution condemned discrimination against women and girls and expressed concern over other alleged human rights abuses in the country, including sexual slavery of boys, child marriage and forced marriage.
The council also voiced concern over what it described as deeply entrenched impunity in Afghanistan and expressed sympathy for the suffering of the Afghan population.
The resolution was introduced by a group of 37 European countries, together with Canada and Chile. The council also voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations independent special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan for another year.
The resolution adds to continuing international pressure on the Taliban over its treatment of women and girls. While the Taliban authorities have sought greater international engagement since returning to power, their restrictions on women’s rights remain a major obstacle in relations with much of the international community.
