The Taliban leaders in Afghanistan institutionalized large-scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls, a group of 36 UN human rights experts have said.
“We are worried about sustainable and systematic efforts to exclude women from the social, economic and political fields throughout the country,” experts said in a statement Monday.
This concern was exacerbated in cases of women from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities such as Hazara, Tajik, Hinduism and other communities whose differences or visibility made them more vulnerable in Afghanistan. “
Taliban have introduced a series of restrictive steps to women and girls since the takeover of the state in August. Many women have been banned back to their work.
The taxi driver has been directed not to pick up female passengers who are not wearing certain hijabs.
Women are afraid of the consequences if they leave home without male relatives.
“These policies have also affected the ability of women to work and make a living, encourage them further into poverty,” experts said.
“The head of the household is very difficult, with their suffering compounded by the awesome consequences of the humanitarian crisis in the country.”
“Special and serious worries” are sustainable denial of female fundamental rights and girls to secondary and tertiary education, the statement continues.
Most women’s secondary schools remain closed, and most girls who have to attend class 7-12 are rejected access to schools, only based on their gender, experts said.
They also recorded an increased risk of exploitation of women and girls, including human trafficking and forced marriages, and forced labor.
“Various vital, and sometimes save lives, survived service providers of gender-based violence have been closed for fear of retribution, such as having many female shelters, with potentially fatal consequences for many victims who need these services.”
Another effort to dismantle the system designed to respond to gender-based violence includes stopping special courts and prosecution units responsible for upholding the 2009 law on women’s elimination.
Institutions formed to help and protect vulnerable women and girls such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Independent Human Rights Commission or Women’s Shelter has been closed or physically occupied.
Women and girls in Afghanistan have protested continuous steps over the past five months, demanding their rights to education, employment and freedom.
Taliban fighters have been repeatedly beaten, threatened or detained by showing women.
Expert groups reiterated their calls to the international community to increase the humanitarian assistance needed urgently for the people of Afghanistan and the realization of their rights to recovery and development.
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