Afghan women protesters are accusing international organizations and countries of prioritizing diplomacy and short-term interests over human rights issues in Afghanistan.
In a letter addressed to the Human Rights Council on Saturday, June 17, the protesters expressed their disappointment with many international organizations that have turned a blind eye to the current realities in Afghanistan.
The letter stated, “Global citizens should not support a terrorist group and reduce them to a political force for the sake of temporary interests.”
The Afghan women protesters are seeking the support of the United Nations Human Rights Council in standing alongside them and exerting greater pressure on the Taliban based on the values of human rights and the United Nations Charter.
They have emphasized that since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the group has deprived the people of their civil liberties and human values, subjected protesters to torture and imprisonment, and in some cases, even resorted to murder.
The letter further noted, “The oppressive, dictatorial, and terrorist regime of the Taliban has committed numerous human rights crimes in the past two years. Ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have become daily activities in Afghanistan.”
According to the women protesters, the report by Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, only captures a fraction of the Taliban’s human rights violations.
The protesters continue to demand the establishment of a mechanism by the United Nations Human Rights Council to address the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Meanwhile, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, has dismissed Richard Bennett’s recent report as divorced from reality.
In his forthcoming report, to be presented at the fifty-third session of the Human Rights Council, Bennett highlights that nowhere else in the world, like Afghanistan, have women’s rights been subjected to such widespread and systematic attacks.
The release of imprisoned women protesters, increased pressure on the Taliban, and prevention of the division of the group into moderate and hardline factions are among the other demands made by the Afghan women protesters to the global community.
