In a joint statement, foreign ministers of the US, EU, and other Western nations said that over the past year and a half, Afghanistan has seen one of the steepest declines globally in the respect for the human rights of women and girls.

It stated that if the Taliban’s policies are not reversed, the harmful effects of these reprehensible measures will be devastating and irreparable for Afghanistan’s economy and society.

The statement urged the Taliban to respect all people of Afghanistan, deliver on their commitments to the Afghan people and the international community, and reverse all decisions and practices restricting women’s and girls’ exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Afghan women and girls have been denied access to secondary education, to higher education, to public and political spaces, and to employment opportunities.

While calling attention to the situation in that country, it added that services for supporting victims of gender-based violence have been largely dismantled.

It emphasised that the signatory countries support the calls by the people of Afghanistan for women and girls’ full access to quality education at schools and universities and women’s unrestricted ability to work in all sectors, including humanitarian assistance and basic services delivery, equitable and comprehensive delivery of which is impossible without full participation of women.

The joint statement on the occasion of International Women’s Day had been issued on behalf of the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the High Representative of the European Union.

The statement added that the world fears that the Taliban will implement further measures restricting women and girls’ exercise of civil, political, economic, cultural, and social rights, with a dire impact on the future of Afghanistan and its people.