2 months ago
16
The Taliban on Thursday dismissed accusations of
gender discrimination
and human rights violations as “absurd”, despite four countries pledging to hold
Afghanistan
's rulers accountable under
international law
for their treatment of women and girls.
Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands are set to initiate legal proceedings against the Taliban for violating the
UN Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Afghanistan is a party.
The initiative was launched on Wednesday during the UN General Assembly in New York.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on women and girls, barring them from education beyond sixth grade, many public spaces, and most jobs. In August, the vice and virtue ministry issued laws banning women from showing their faces in public and prohibiting them from raising their voices.
More than 20 countries have expressed support for the proposed legal action, condemning the "gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, particularly the gender-based discrimination against women and girls." They highlighted that Afghanistan is responsible under international law for its ongoing violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and stated that they do not politically recognize the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of the Afghan population. The countries also noted that "Afghanistan's failure to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations is a key obstacle to normalisation of relations."
Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat claimed that human rights are protected in Afghanistan and that nobody faces discrimination. He accused several "fugitive (Afghan) women" of spreading propaganda and misrepresenting the situation, calling the accusations of human rights violations and gender discrimination "absurd."
The Taliban rejected all criticism of their policies, especially those affecting women and girls, describing it as interference and maintaining that their actions align with their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
