Blurb: Banning Afghan women from UN workspaces violates international law and the UN Charter, crippling the delivery of vital, life-saving aid.
New York
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Taliban to immediately reverse restrictions preventing Afghan women from working for the United Nations and ensure their safe and unhindered access to UN premises across Afghanistan. He expressed deep concern over what he described as continuing discriminatory policies against women and girls.
Guterres said restrictions on women’s participation in public life, education and employment violate their fundamental rights and are also harming Afghanistan’s economic development, stability and efforts to rejoin the international community. He stressed that preventing Afghan women from accessing UN workplaces is contrary to international law, including the UN Charter, and affects the organisation’s ability to deliver essential and life-saving assistance.
September 7 marks one year since Afghan women were barred from entering UN premises in Afghanistan. Guterres said unrestricted access for all UN personnel is essential for carrying out the organisation’s mandate and reaching vulnerable communities. He particularly stressed the importance of women being able to provide humanitarian assistance and essential services to Afghan women and girls in accordance with cultural practices.
The UN chief also called on the Taliban to remove all restrictions on Afghan women and girls and respect their right to full, equal and meaningful participation in society. His remarks came amid continued international concern over the treatment of women and girls under Taliban rule.
Last month, UN experts warned that gender-based repression in Afghanistan had deepened, with women and girls facing growing restrictions. They said a generation of girls had been denied secondary education and described the Taliban’s policies as targeted gender-based deprivation. The experts said the restrictions could amount to persecution on gender grounds and urged the international community to support recognition of gender apartheid as a distinct crime against humanity. They also raised concerns over Taliban decrees affecting women’s protection from violence, marriage rights and religious minorities.
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