Former Afghan Soldier, Who Had Been Arrested in 2021, Detained Again by Taliban in Parwan

Nebenzya told Maryam Rahmati, Afghanistan International's correspondent at the United Nations, that the next meeting of the Security Council at the end of April will not discuss the "recognition of the Taliban".

Earlier on Thursday, Barbara Woodward, the United Kingdom’s representative in the United Nations hoped that an agreement will be reached on the negotiations with the Taliban regarding the conditions for the recognition of the group in the meeting of the UN Security Council.

The UN Security Council had met on Thursday evening for closed door discussions and its next meeting is scheduled to be held with the participation of the Special Envoys of various countries for Afghanistan.

"Let's have a conversation with this group about what they need to do to get recognised," Woodward said.

However, the representative of Russia in the UN said that the meeting of the Security Council will not be limited to discussing the status of women and the ban on their work in Afghanistan. According to him, various issues such as the fight against drugs and terrorism in Afghanistan will also be discussed in the meeting.

The Taliban has declared that wearing the new uniform is mandatory in public and private schools.

The Taliban has introduced these uniforms for female students even though girls' schools have been closed and millions of female students are deprived of education.

According to the new bill, the uniform of boys from the first to sixth grade will be blue, and the uniform of secondary and high school students will be "pistachio". Students of religious schools will wear steel grey and white uniform with white caps.

For girls, the Taliban has chosen a cream uniform with white scarves, and the uniform of secondary and higher girl students will be dark green.

In addition, girls above grade six will have to wear an additional steel-coloured hijab over their clothes and face masks.

In the Taliban bill, it has been stated that it is forbidden to wear pants and short dresses for female teachers and female students.

Sources said that these people have contacted the Taliban consulate in Dubai and asked for support to prevent their deportation to Afghanistan. The Taliban officials in Dubai have contacted the UAE authorities and asked them not to deport these four people, but the UAE government has rejected the Taliban’s request.

Nearly 20 months have passed since the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan. However, no country has recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan have pushed many countries to distance themselves from the Taliban.

The Taliban officials have not reacted to the detention of these journalists so far.

Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association has said that these journalists had been arrested on charges of "media violation". The Association added that the Taliban's Ministry of Information and Culture has been in contact to release the journalists.

Nai, supporting open media in Afghanistan, announced without mentioning the Taliban that the security agencies continue to detain journalists in Afghanistan.

Nai emphasised that the three journalists have been arrested in Baghlan province, while earlier the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban emphasised that the Taliban security agencies should not interfere in the affairs of the media.

The two organisations have demanded the release of these journalists and urged the Taliban to reveal the reasons behind their detention.

Mohammed stressed that the UN’s Afghan female staff members will continue to receive their salaries and posts of women and staff will not be occupied by men.

The Deputy Secretary General of the UN traveled to Kabul in January and discussed Afghanistan issues with Taliban officials.

Speaking at the launch of the 2023 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, she said that the UN will continue to stand by the women and the girls of Afghanistan.

Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women, is another high-ranking United Nations official who condemned the ban on women's working in Afghanistan.

Bahous said that almost a quarter of households in Afghanistan are female-headed, and in order to deliver humanitarian aid to them, female employees must return to their duties.

She added, “The de-facto authorities’ denial of women’s and girls’ rights to education and to their engagement in society and the economy of Afghanistan is a self-inflicted wound on the country.”

Both UN officials asked the Taliban to immediately remove the restrictions on women's work in UN offices and allow Afghan women and girls to study, work and travel.