The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) has decried the Taliban's restrictions on women's rights, stating it was "deeply alarmed" by the reports that the hardline government banned women and girls from attending universities and schools.
Calling on the Taliban to reverse the rules which represent an increasing erosion of fundamental rights, a press statement by the UNSC said no country can develop or survive socially and economically with half its population excluded.
"The Security Council is deeply alarmed by reports that the Taliban have suspended access to universities for women and girls, and reiterated its deep concern about the suspension of schools beyond the sixth grade, and its call for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan," the statement read.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also expressed the council's concern over reports that the Taliban have banned female employees of NGOs.
"The Security Council is furthermore profoundly concerned by reports that the Taliban have banned female employees of NGOs and international organizations from going to work, which would have a significant and immediate impact on humanitarian operations in the country, including those of the UN, and the delivery of aid and health work, and that these restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the expectations of the international community," it read.
Last week, Taliban authorities stopped university education for women, sparking international outrage and demonstrations in Afghan cities. On Saturday, they announced the exclusion of women from NGO work, following which four major international aid agencies suspended operations in Afghanistan.
"These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan's borders."
The statement added that the ban will significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend.
The statement added that the UNSC continues to support the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to carry out the mandate including monitoring and reporting on the situation in the war-ravaged nation which, at present is under the Taliban regime.
The Taliban, which took over the country, after the US troops left Afghanistan had promised a moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities but continued to implement the Islamic law or Sharia.
Besides banning education for girls and women, the hardline government has also denied entry to women in parks and gyms. It has also ordered head-to-toe clothing for women in public.
"Women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights," Turk said. "Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed it will merely harm all Afghans, compound their suffering, and impede the country's development."
