RASC News Agency: The female foreign ministers of 17 nations have issued a joint declaration, denouncing Afghanistan under the Taliban as the world’s most repressive country for women. They have called for the immediate revocation of all draconian decrees imposed by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. In an official statement released on Saturday, February 15, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the ministers had collectively urged the Taliban to abolish all policies restricting women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The ministers strongly condemned the Taliban’s systematic exclusion of women and girls from education, employment, and public life, particularly their ban on schooling, universities, and medical training institutes. The statement read: “Female foreign ministers from across the globe have united to voice their profound concerns over the Taliban’s ongoing and systematic human rights violations against Afghanistani women.”
The declaration emphasized that if the Taliban’s ban on medical education for women persists, Afghanistan’s healthcare system will face an irreversible crisis, leading to soaring maternal and child mortality rates. Furthermore, the ministers urged the Taliban to uphold Afghanistan’s international legal commitments, particularly those outlined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The foreign ministers reaffirmed their unwavering support for Afghanistani women, human rights defenders, and civil society activists, emphasizing the urgent need for global intervention.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has considered issuing arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief justice, in response to widespread allegations of crimes against humanity. Since reclaiming power in August 2021, the Taliban have systematically dismantled fundamental rights, enforcing some of the most extreme gender-based restrictions in modern history. Their oppressive policies have turned Afghanistan into a prison for women, where their basic freedoms and dignity are relentlessly stripped away.
