Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, has stated that the Taliban’s repressive and human rights–violating measures have become normalized.
On Thursday, 26 February, Bennett presented his report on women’s access to health care at a UN Human Rights Council session on Afghanistan.
He noted that women have been denied medical services without a mahram (male guardian) .
Bennett also pointed out that Taliban officials in the Ministry of Public Health lack sufficient experience and expertise.
He emphasized that the human rights situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated.
Bennett stated: “A highly repressive social order is being normalised, in which women’s and girls’ autonomy is progressively erased, with profound consequences for physical and mental health, health-seeking behaviour, and survival.”
He further reported that corporal punishment and executions of citizens have increased.
Meanwhile, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, supported criminalizing gender apartheid.
