RASC News Agency: Rina Amiri, the US Special Representative for Afghanistani Women, has criticized the Taliban for intensifying their extreme policies from the 1990s by barring the UN Special Rapporteur’s visit and enacting the “Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law. She has called on the international community to withhold normalization of relations with the Taliban until there are tangible improvements in their human rights practices.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Amiri highlighted that the Taliban’s travel ban on Richard Bennett and their endorsement of the virtue law underscore a resurgence of the extreme policies from the 1990s. She has advised the global community to maintain its distance from the group until the Taliban’s human rights record significantly improves.
Amiri stressed the importance of addressing this issue from a normative, economic, and security perspective. On Tuesday, August 20, the Taliban prohibited the UN rapporteur from visiting Afghanistan and, the following day, announced that the group’s leader had ratified the “Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law.
Amiri’s concerns about the Taliban’s return to 1990s-era policies are significant, particularly considering that both she and the government she represents have granted the Taliban both national and international legitimacy, effectively ceding Afghanistan to their control. Over the past three years, Amiri has consistently supported the Taliban’s policies and swiftly opposed any actions by political or military opponents aimed at countering the Taliban. If she is genuinely concerned about the Taliban’s policies, it raises questions about why she has not urged the US government to cease its financial support, including the weekly $40 million and the covert monthly payments of $160 million to the group’s security forces, which may be contributing to their increasing oppression.
