The organization emphasizes that Afghanistan stands as the most egregious offender, with women and girls enduring severe restrictions on their basic human rights, including the denial of secondary and higher education.
The organization emphasizes that Afghanistan stands as the most egregious offender, with women and girls enduring severe restrictions on their basic human rights, including the denial of secondary and higher education.
Human Rights Watch has issued a pressing appeal for immediate international support to protect the rights of women in Afghanistan.
The organization emphasizes that Afghanistan stands as the most egregious offender, with women and girls enduring severe restrictions on their basic human rights, including the denial of secondary and higher education.
“There is no country in the world in which the basic human rights of women and girls are more restricted than Afghanistan,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
“In 2023, Afghanistan remains the only country where women and girls do not have access to secondary and higher education,” it added.
The organization noted that women have been forcibly removed from leadership positions, and male guardianship has been imposed as a requirement for travel across most provinces.
The limited employment opportunities available to women exclude them from working with international non-governmental organizations, except in select sectors.
These deplorable measures represent a flagrant violation of women’s and girls’ rights, contributing significantly to a humanitarian crisis that affects the entire Afghan population, it said.
In March last year, girls’ schools reopening was canceled indefinitely in Afghanistan. By November, women were forbidden from public spaces like parks and gyms, with the Taliban claiming it was due to rule violations, although some Afghan women disagreed.
Women were banned from universities and nongovernmental organizations, with public floggings and executions reinstated in December. Girls’ schools were forcefully shut down, and women were only permitted to attend classes taught by other women or elderly men.
According to a CNN report, the Taliban justified the ban on women attending universities by claiming that they did not adhere to Islamic dress codes and other “Islamic values.” The Taliban specifically mentioned incidents of female students traveling without a male guardian as the reason for their decision.
Human Rights Watch firmly placed the blame on the shoulders of the Taliban leadership for the dire consequences faced by the people of Afghanistan.
“I would like to highlight that women in Afghanistan are the frontline defenders of human rights. They are not only fighting for their own rights but for everyone’s basic rights and an equal future,” the statement read.
Human Rights Watch is also urging governments worldwide to express collective outrage and stand in solidarity with Afghan women by addressing the denial of their fundamental rights.
The organization appealed to governments to lend their voices to condemn the restrictions faced by women and girls in Afghanistan while offering support to the brave local activists who continue to demand “Bread, Work, Freedom.”
