As the world celebrates the International Women’s Day under the theme of ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment’, international organisations on Saturday emphasised the need to support Afghan women and restore their rights. The UN Women in Afghanistan stated that investing in Afghan women is akin to investing in Afghanistan’s future.
Standing in solidarity with Afghan women and girls, Indrika Ratwatte, the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations in Afghanistan, stated that the organisation is committed to investing in their resilience, empowerment, leadership, amplifying their voices, and advocating for their rights.
UN Women has expressed deep concern over the recent enactment of a morality law by the de facto regime in Afghanistan, which imposes extensive restrictions on personal behaviour, effectively erasing women from public life and granting broad enforcement powers to the morality police.
Over the past three years, since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, Afghan women and girls have been subjected to more than 70 edicts, directives, and decrees, stripping them of fundamental rights. UN Women data shows that these restrictions are having dire impacts on the lives of Afghan women and girls.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, education has been forbidden to girls aged over 12. As a result of this ban, Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls do not have the right to attend secondary school.
A report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) quoted one women, as saying “We have no right to education, no right to work, no right to even exist freely. They are removing us from society”.
Asserting that girls’ right to education is non-negotiable, UNESCO took to its social media page on Saturday and posted, “Today, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls over 12 are forbidden to learn. 1.5 million girls are deliberately denied secondary education. If the ban continues until 2030, over 4 million girls will be affected.”
Meanwhile, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan Government, stated that the rights of Afghan women in an Islamic society differ from those in Western countries.
“Based on Islamic law and the traditions and customs of Afghan society, all fundamental rights of Afghan women are ensured. However, it should not be forgotten that we discuss women’s rights within an Islamic and Afghan society, which has clear differences from Western society and its culture,” Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Afghan government, was quoted as saying by the leading Afghan media outlet TOLOnews in an audio message.