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| UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Falk Turk | Photo: Reuters |
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Falkar Turk has called a new announcement by the Taliban government in Afghanistan banning women from working in NGOs "absolutely wrong" and called for the announcement to be revoked.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan recently said in a statement that if any NGO employs women, their operations will be suspended or their licenses will be revoked. The Taliban had previously issued a decree in this regard in 2022. The new statement calls for compliance with that decree.
After returning to power in 2021, the Taliban said they would not take the same hardline stance on women as before; but they have since banned women from higher education, from various jobs, and even from singing or reciting poetry in public.
Falkar Turk said, 'A country cannot progress by leaving half the population out.'
Falker Turk added, "I am deeply concerned by the recent announcements by the Afghan authorities. A gravely wrong path has been chosen." He also commented that while the human rights situation in the country is poor, non-governmental organizations are playing an important role there.
Turk called on the Afghan authorities to repeal this discriminatory decree, as well as all measures that hinder women's access to education, the workplace, and public spaces, and that restrict their freedom of movement.
'Songs cannot be sung, poems cannot be read'
After coming to power, the Taliban banned women from all forms of education after primary school. Women's movement in parks and public spaces has been banned. A recent decree banned women from singing and reciting poetry in public spaces.
However, the Taliban claim that they have not completely banned women from the workplace and that 9,000 women have been allowed to work since coming to power.