RASC News Agency: Since their return to power, Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued over 70 decrees affecting the rights, lives, and bodies of Afghanistani women. These decrees have deprived women and girls of education and employment rights, effectively excluding them from social, economic, political, and cultural life.
In its first comprehensive report on the status of women in Afghanistan, prepared with support from the European Union Commission, the United Nations Women’s Office states that the decrees by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada have reversed 40 years of progress for Afghanistani women.
The report, titled “Country Gender Profile: Afghanistan” and compiled by a team of UN researchers, spans 70 pages. It notes that due to severe restrictions and the suppression of basic rights, only one percent of Afghanistani women feel they have an impact on society. Researchers conducted interviews with dozens of women and young girls within Afghanistan to compile this report.
The report highlights that Afghanistan, plagued by prolonged conflicts and a weak economy, has consistently ranked lowest in various gender equality indices. However, significant progress was made during the 20-year rule of the Republic government, all of which ceased with the Taliban’s return to power: “The Taliban have systematically targeted women’s and girls’ basic rights and freedoms through a series of decrees, policies, and stringent measures. These decrees dictate women’s attire, restrict their freedom of movement, and limit their access to educational and professional opportunities.”
The United Nations Women’s Office, referencing reports by Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, emphasized the dire situation of women in Afghanistan, describing it as “gender apartheid.”
Since regaining power, the Taliban have arbitrarily detained hundreds of individuals and publicly flogged dozens of men and women. In a recent incident, over 60 people were flogged in Sar-e Pol province. Prior to this, two individuals in Panjshir province were flogged on charges of “illicit conduct.”
