Systematic Violence Against Afghan Women Shouldn’t Be Normalised, Says UN Official

Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur, will present his proposals to combat gender apartheid in Afghanistan at the Human Rights Council meeting today.

Bennett recently published his latest report on Afghanistan and is set to present its details on Tuesday at the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

In this report, he called on the international community to refrain from legitimising and normalising relations with the Taliban until there is tangible commitment from the group to human rights and women's rights.

He focused on gender apartheid in Afghanistan and the Taliban's policies against women in his report.

Bennett warned that indifference to the widespread and systematic human rights violations in Afghanistan will have highly destructive consequences, even for future generations in Afghanistan and the world. According to him, previous achievements in women's rights and human rights in Afghanistan have been lost.

Given the international community's commitments to the Human Rights Convention, Bennett has called for coordinated action against the oppressive system in Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban have committed fundamental crimes, including crimes against humanity and gender persecution.

The Special Rapporteur stated that gender apartheid as a crime against humanity is the "most accurate description of the institutionalised oppression" of women in Afghanistan. He again urged the international community to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

Richard Bennett called on the international community to provide legal, political, and diplomatic support for the campaign of Afghan activists to recognise gender apartheid. Amnesty International also, for the first time yesterday, called for the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime.

The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that the international community must practically empathise with Afghan women and combat institutionalised and systematic repression.

He urged the Taliban to abandon discriminatory and restrictive directives that deprive women of their basic rights and to provide equal access to education for girls at all levels.

Bennett also called for the removal of travel restrictions on women, including travel without a Mahram (male guardian), and stated that the ruling regime must allow women to return to work, including in international aid organisations.

He demanded effective measures to prevent child abuse, especially early and forced marriage, sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking, and said that the ruling regime must guarantee women's access to healthcare services, especially mental and physical health services.

Bennett emphasised on the social diversity of Afghanistan and said that the Taliban must ensure the security of ethnic, religious, and gender minorities and bring those responsible for violence to justice.

He also called on the world to support referring the case of Afghanistan to the International Criminal Court and ensure that the court has sufficient evidence and information about the systematic human rights violations and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

The organisation wrote that the security forces, in civilian attire, arrested these clerics without a court order.

Haal Vsh is a human rights organisation that reports on news from Sistan and Baluchestan of Iran.

The organisation announced the names of the detainees as Shamsuddin Motahari, Hossein Ahmad Shahidi, Gol Mohammad Mansouri, and Fazel Moradi, stating that they were teachers at a seminary.

Haal Vsh, quoting its sources, wrote that these clerics were arrested ten days ago while travelling. So far, Iranian officials have not commented on this matter.

The Islamic Republic has previously threatened, arrested, or pressured Sunni clerics, especially in Baluchestan and South Khorasan.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry mentioned that Bagheri expressed Iran's readiness to cooperate with Afghanistan in various fields. The statement, released on Monday, emphasised on the necessity of joint action by Islamic countries to pressure Israel to stop its crimes against Palestinians, particularly within the framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The foreign ministers discussed the "latest situation of the Gaza war and the crimes" committed by Israel.

They highlighted South Africa's action to file a complaint against Israel at the Hague, underscoring the need for joint action by Islamic countries against Tel Aviv.

In a statement on Tuesday, June 18, the Taliban noted that Bagheri praised the "common stance" of the Islamic Republic and the Taliban regarding the Gaza war.

Additionally, the Taliban's statement quoted Muttaqi, who affirmed that Afghanistan is a "free and independent" country and that interference in its affairs benefits no one. He added, "Only through cooperation, understanding, and consultation can effective progress be made in various fields”.

During this meeting, Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, will present a report on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban control.

In this report, Bennett will provide information to the UN Human Rights Council about the discriminatory actions of the Taliban against Afghan women and girls.

Previously, Heather Barr, Human Rights Watch associate women’s rights director, said that Bennett's new report on the "shocking and escalating abuse of Afghan women by the Taliban" is explicit and critical.

Barr stated that in an effort to gain Taliban cooperation, the UN has ignored the report of its Special Rapporteur.

Human Rights Watch has also called on countries to establish a mechanism for accountability and investigation of Taliban crimes within the framework of the Human Rights Council.

According to the organisation, countries' disregard of the harassment and mistreatment of women by the Taliban is disappointing.

The organisation called on countries to establish a mechanism for accountability and investigation of Taliban crimes within the framework of the Human Rights Council.

This international body expressed concern about the "oppressive" situation of Afghan women and girls, urging the world to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

Human Rights Watch released its statement a day before the new session of the UN Human Rights Council to review the new report by Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch is one of the major international organisations that has supported the recommendations in Richard Bennett's report. The report emphasises on the recognition of gender apartheid and called on countries to bring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice for human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch has also urged members of the Human Rights Council to file a complaint against the Taliban in this court.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has excluded Afghan women from the third Doha meeting. Human Rights Watch has stated that this action by the United Nations is a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.