The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (UNHRHC) released a statement Monday condemning the idea that the Taliban was “reformed.” The statement from multiple human rights experts drew attention to the gap between the promises made by the Taliban during its return to power in 2021 and the reality of “gender apartheid” 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 continues, pointing out the disparity between the treatment of men and women under Taliban rule. The group pointed out that in 2021 the Taliban promised to “uphold human rights obligations and women’s rights,” however, in 2022, girls 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 of the Taliban including to reverse treatment of women and girls by allowing women to work, run businesses and enjoy human rights, including freedom of movement and equal representation in decision-making processes; reopen schools for girls and women; ensure access to quality education; end reprisals against former officials and civil society members; stop arbitrary detention; reverse actions causing shrinking civic space; and enforce strict measures to prevent discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities.
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