RASC News Agency: Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, has accused the Taliban of institutionalizing a systematic regime of discrimination and oppression that constitutes crimes against humanity. In a video message on Monday, November 25, Bennett condemned the Taliban’s so-called “Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong” law, describing it as yet another instrument for intensifying the oppression of women and minorities in Afghanistan. Bennett urged the international community to devise concrete strategies to compel the Taliban to rescind their restrictive decrees. He underscored the urgent need for a clear and actionable framework to hold the Taliban accountable and establish lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He further stressed that the people of Afghanistan particularly women must play a central role in shaping the nation’s political and human rights future. Bennett’s remarks coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. Simultaneously, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called on the Taliban to immediately end their violence against women. Over the past three years, the Taliban have issued numerous edicts targeting women, systematically eroding their rights. Initially, women were barred from working in government institutions, followed by the closure of schools and universities to female students. Later, restrictions were imposed on women’s freedom of movement in public spaces, and their voices were deemed inappropriate for public engagement.
These draconian measures and restrictions are unprecedented, both in modern times and across centuries of recorded history. Yet, under the pretext of religion, the Taliban have enforced these inhumane policies on the Afghanistani population, particularly targeting women. The international community has consistently condemned these actions as egregious violations of fundamental human rights, urging immediate and unified action to address these injustices.
