RASC News Agency: The Malala Fund, founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai, has condemned the Taliban’s decision to bar Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, from entering Afghanistan. The Fund asserts that this action is a blatant attempt by the Taliban to evade accountability for their ongoing human rights abuses.
In a statement released on Thursday, August 22, the Malala Fund highlighted that Bennett’s reports have consistently documented and exposed the “extreme human rights violations” perpetrated by the Taliban. The statement further emphasized that since assuming power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has established a regime that severely curtails the most basic freedoms of women and girls, equating to what the Fund describes as “gender apartheid.”
The Malala Fund issued a stark warning, stating that the Taliban’s latest move represents “a dangerous step towards the normalization of systematic oppression” of women and girls in Afghanistan. Concurrently, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, remarked in a press briefing today that the ban on Bennett’s travel to Afghanistan will not deter him from reporting on the country’s situation.
Earlier this week, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced that Bennett would no longer be permitted to visit Afghanistan. It’s important to note that Bennett has previously produced reports detailing various atrocities committed by the Taliban reports that the group has consistently denied. The Taliban’s ongoing attempts to conceal and deny their crimes continue, despite the daily accounts from the Afghanistani populace and impartial international organizations documenting their brutal actions.
