Kabul

Around 80 countries condemned the diktats issued by the Taliban on Afghan women putting restrictions on them since the group returned to power in 2021 and urged them to reverse the orders passed by them.

Amid the deteriorating conditions of Afghan women, eighty countries in a joint statement delivered to the UNGA 78th meeting expressed their concerns over the violation of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan, reported to source.

Taliban authorities closed most girls’ high schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working.

Countries including, UAE, Australia, Japan, Spain, Chile, along with 75 other member states and observers have asked the Taliban to respect women’s and girls’ rights based on the Taliban values and international human rights.

The countries in the joint statement called the Taliban’s women-related edicts ‘systematic discrimination’, oppression and violence, according to source.

They further urged the Taliban to ensure full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in public and political life of Afghanistan.

Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations said, We call on the de facto authorities to allow women and girls to exercise their rights and contribute to the social and economic development of the Afghan society in accordance with international human rights laws and teachings of Islam.

Moreover, according to the joint statement, the Taliban’s edicts against women and girls contradict Islamic values as well as, universal human rights.

However, the Taliban have claimed women’s rights in Afghanistan are protected based on the Sharia Law.