The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement [7] Aug. 14 condemning the idea that the Taliban are "reformed" since the last time they were in power in Afghanistan. The statement, written by multiple human rights experts, drew attention to the gap between the promises made by the Taliban upon its return to power in August 2021 and the reality of "gender apartheid [8]" in Afghanistan.
The experts stated:
[T]he policies they [the Taliban] have imposed on the Afghan population have resulted in a continuous, systematic and shocking rescinding of a multitude of human rights, including the rights to education, work, and freedoms of expression, assembly and association. Consistent credible reports of summary executions and acts tantamount to enforced disappearances, widespread arbitrary detention, torture, and ill treatment, as well as arbitrary displacement have caused increased concern.
The statement pointed out that in 2021 the Taliban promised to "uphold human rights obligations and women's rights." However, in 2022, girls over 10 were barred from school and women were banned from traveling without a male escort. Women have also been banned from public places and from attending university. The experts stated: "The hardest hit are women and girls, ethnic, religious and other minorities, people with disabilities, displaced persons, LGBTQ+ persons, human rights defenders and other civil society actors, journalists, artists, educators, and former government and security officials."
The statement concluded with six demands on the Taliban: allowing women to work, run businesses and enjoy full rights; reopening schools for girls and women, and ensuring access to quality education; ending reprisals against former officials and civil society members; ending arbitrary detentions; reversing actions that shrink civic space; and enforcing strict measures to prevent discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities.
From Jurist [10], Aug. 15. Used with permission.
See our last report on the Taliban’s anti-woman crackdown [11].
