Respecting human rights, especially ensuring women’s rights, is one of the contentious issues facing the global community in dealing with the Taliban. The United Nations and the majority of its member states have repeatedly accused the Taliban of widespread human rights violations. They have consistently urged the Taliban to establish an all-inclusive government and to prevent other terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, from operating and present in Afghanistan, in addition to respecting human rights, especially women’s rights. However, the Taliban have not accepted any of these demands. The group has stated that the international community should not discuss the structure of the Taliban regime. On the other hand, the global community’s positions towards the Taliban have constantly been criticized and protested by anti-Taliban forces and women. Recently, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women as a crime against humanity. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has also described the Taliban’s educational restrictions and the cancellation of women’s work as oppressive.
The widespread violation of human rights, especially women’s rights, by the Taliban in Afghanistan, has been one of the contentious issues facing the global community in the past two and a half years. Western countries and some regional nations have repeatedly urged the Taliban to abide by their commitments in the Doha Agreement. According to these countries, the Taliban pledged to respect human rights and not allow the use of Afghan soil against neighboring, regional, and global countries when signing the Doha Agreement with the United States.
However, over the past two years, the Taliban have not only violated human rights extensively but have also deprived women and girls of all their human rights and severely isolated them from society. Despite pressures and repeated demands from the world and the people of Afghanistan, the Taliban have continued to violate human rights and not combat regional terrorist groups.
In the latest development, the United Nations hosted a meeting of special representatives from countries, along with some prominent Afghan women and civil society figures. In this meeting, the Secretary-General of the United Nations sought to create international consensus and coherence among the global community in dealing with the Taliban.
On the eve of this meeting, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has labeled the Taliban’s discriminatory behaviors, systematic violence, and systematic elimination of women as crimes against humanity. This entity has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to comprehensively investigate these Taliban crimes.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has strongly expressed its concerns about serious violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan through a statement. It noted that Afghanistan became the first Islamic country to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on March 5, 2003. According to this organization, Taliban laws, policies, and orders have severely deprived women of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women added that from September 2021 to January 2024, the Taliban issued dozens of orders against women and girls, seriously restricting women’s rights. According to the statement, restricting women’s rights, and segregating and expelling them from society, has been accompanied by alarming levels of gender-based violence by state and non-state actors. The committee stated that the prohibition of women’s education perpetuates the disability of women and girls and will have adverse consequences for their future. The organization stated that arbitrary arrests, constant surveillance, and gender-based violence against women and girls, due to non-compliance with the Taliban’s desired veil and other strict laws, have been systematically discriminatory. This organization added that these Taliban actions indicate that almost all articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women have been violated by this group.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has stated that human rights, particularly women’s rights, have been sidelined, and women and girls with all their diversity have been excluded from collective, political, and economic life. According to this organization, such actions by the Taliban could lead to sexual harassment, recognized as a crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court in Rome.
The UN entity has commented on the Taliban’s gender apartheid policy: “While there is no internationally accepted legal definition of gender apartheid, it is clear that the systematic oppression and control aimed at maintaining such a regime is tantamount to a form of gender-based apartheid.”
In a statement, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination asserts: “The Taliban’s systematic discrimination against women and girls seriously violates the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international human rights law. Restricting the rights of women and girls not only hinders their empowerment and participation in society but also contradicts the overall progress, stability, and sustainable development of Afghanistan.”
The committee has urged the Taliban to immediately end the violations against women and girls and take urgent action to end the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban have been called upon to revoke all discriminatory provisions and restrictions that institutionalize discrimination against women and girls and to respect human rights and women’s rights.
Previously, senior human rights experts at the United Nations have stated that the Taliban’s actions against women could be considered crimes against humanity. They have called on the International Criminal Court to comprehensively investigate the Taliban’s crimes against women.
Meanwhile, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has also condemned the Taliban’s prohibitions against women and girls as oppressive. Mr. Guterres has urged the Taliban to immediately lift the bans on women’s education and employment. He emphasized that women and girls in Afghanistan should have meaningful participation in all aspects of life.
On Tuesday, February 20, the Secretary-General of the United Nations wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account that women should be included in classroom desks to decision-making tables. He added that the world must ensure that the needs and rights of all Afghan citizens are priorities for the Taliban.
Mr. Guterres, while hosting a two-day meeting of the organization with special representatives from various countries to assess the situation in Afghanistan, deemed the Taliban’s educational and employment prohibitions against women as oppressive.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations spoke about global interaction with the Taliban, stating: “It has been decided that I initiate a series of consultation processes to pave the way for finding a United Nations envoy who can not only play a coordinating role in the ongoing interaction but also effectively engage with the Taliban.”
The convening of this meeting and the remarks made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations have sparked various reactions. Some international human rights organizations and policymakers have labeled the Taliban’s non-participation in this meeting as a strategic mistake by the group and a deception of regional supporters of the Taliban.
On one hand, the Jamiat-e Islami (Islamic Society Party), led by Salahuddin Rabbani, considers the exclusion of political factions from the Doha meeting a serious flaw in its essence. According to the party, the United Nations, to maintain impartiality and build trust, should have also invited anti-Taliban forces to this gathering.
However, Heather Barr, the co-director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, stated that the UN Secretary-General intends to appoint someone as his special envoy in Afghanistan affairs to attract Taliban attention. She labels this move as “appeasement” to the Taliban. According to her, this action raises suspicions among Afghanistan’s human rights defenders about the UN’s commitment to supporting human rights.
Previously, several political factions and protest movements had described the Taliban’s invitation to the meeting as “lobbying” for this group through various statements. However, the Taliban abstained from participating in this meeting at the last minute.
