Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, advised Taliban to engage with other predominantly Muslim countries with experience in promoting women and girls’ rights, as guaranteed in international law, in that religious context.
Bachelet, who was speaking at the urgent debate on women and girls in Afghanistan at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier today, added that the recent country visit by an Organization of Islamic Cooperation delegation is a significant step in this direction.
She asked the Taliban to set a firm date for the opening of secondary schools for girls, and to ensure quality education, without discrimination, and resources for teachers.
She noted that since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, women and girls are experiencing the most significant and rapid roll-back in enjoyment of their rights across the board in decades. “Their future will be even darker, unless something changes, quickly,” she added.
Recalling her visit to the country in March this year, Bachelet said that the Taliban had promised that they would honour their human rights obligations, as far as consistent with Islamic sharia law. “Yet, despite these assurances, we are witnessing the progressive exclusion of women and girls from the public sphere and their institutionalised, systematic oppression,” she said.
Bachelet added that as the de-facto authority exercising effective control, Taliban have the obligation to eliminate discrimination against women and ensure women’s right to equal participation in civic and public life, including politics and decision-making.
She said that the women in Afghanistan want direct, in-person, dialogue with the de facto authorities and urged the Taliban to engage in meaningful dialogue with them and remove restrictions of women’s freedom of movement. Bachelet also spoke about the need to re-establish independent authorities to receive complaints from the public and protect victims of gender-based violence.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights sought concerted efforts from the international community to pressurise the Taliban to restore, protect and promote the rights of Afghan women and girls.
She added that it is pertinent to make sure that human rights, including women’s rights and concerns, are at the centre of all humanitarian assessments and programming.
Women under the Taliban are currently facing oppression in their day-to-day life with restrictions on movement, dress, no access to education and rolling back of their achievements over the past 20 years.
