Gender Apartheid – Why Is Afghanistan At Stand Off With UN?

Zaheer Hussain
July 1, 2023
346

A UN Human Rights Council report accuses Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers of pursuing a policy that is “tantamount to gender apartheid.” According to Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, “the Taliban’s Intentional And Calculated Policy Is To Repudiate The Human Rights Of Women And Girls And To Erase Them From Public Life.”

Why In The News?

A Report Submitted To The United Nations Human Rights Council Accuses Afghanistan’s De Facto Taliban Rulers Of Pursuing A Policy “Tantamount To Gender Apartheid.”
Richard Bennett, U.N. Special Rapporteur On Human Rights In Afghanistan, Told The Council That “The Taliban’s Intentional And Calculated Policy Is To Repudiate The Human Rights Of Women And Girls And To Erase Them From Public Life.”

What Do We Know?

The Taliban Regained Power In Afghanistan In August 2021 As U.S.-Led Western Forces Left The Country After Nearly 20 Years Of War.
Bennett Said Conditions In Afghanistan Have Continued To Deteriorate Since He Submitted His Initial Report To The Council Back In September And Noted, “Afghans have Trapped In A Human Rights Crisis That The World Seemed Powerless To Address.”
Based On Subsequent Visits To The Country In October And December, Bennett Said He Observed A Harsher Crackdown On Any Form Of Dissent And Increasing Attacks On The Rights Of Women And Girls, As Well As Ethnic And Religious Minorities.
Not Only Are Women And Girls Barred From Visiting Parks, Gyms, And Public Baths, But New Edicts Issued By The Taliban Have Prevented Women From Attending Universities And Banning Them From Working With Non-governmental Organizations.
“No Country Can Function With Half Its Adult Population Effectively Imprisoned At Home,” He Added, Saying The Ban Imposed On Female NGO Workers Was Adding To Nationwide Economic, Social And Cultural Distress.
The United Nations Reports That Since The Taliban Takeover Of The Country In 2021, The Poverty Rate Has Doubled With 28 Million People In Need Of Humanitarian Assistance, Including More Than Six Million Afghans On The Brink Of Famine.
Widespread Human Rights Violations, On The Flogging In Public Of Hundreds Of Women, Children And Men For Alleged Crimes Including Theft And So-called Illegitimate Relationships.
He Said He Had Received Credible Reports Of Multiple Extrajudicial Killings Of Fighters By The Taliban, Of Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, And Ill-Treatment.

Afghanistan At Stand Off With UN

The United Nations Does Not Recognize The Taliban As The Legitimate Rulers Of Afghanistan, So The Previous Government Continues To Represent The Afghan People At This International Body.
Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Ambassador And Permanent Representative Of Afghanistan At The United Nations In Geneva, Took The Floor Before The Council, Validating The Litany Of Severe Abuses Of Human Rights And Violations Of International Humanitarian Law Described By The Special Rapporteur.
Andisha Said The Arbitrary Arrests And Forceful Detentions Of Peaceful Human Rights Defenders, University Professors And Activists “Should Be Investigated As Gender Persecution – A Crime Against Humanity.”

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