International Women's Day 2023: Afghanistan is world's most repressive country for women, says United Nations

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls deprived of many of their basic rights the United Nations said WednesdayIn a statement released on the International Womens Day the UN mission said that Afghanistans new rulers have shown an almost ldquosingular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homesrdquoDespite initial promises of a more moderate stance the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power in August 2021 as US and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their pullout from Afghanistan after two decades of warThey have banned girls education beyond sixth grade and women from public spaces such as parks and gymsWomen are also barred from working at national and international nongovernmental organisations and ordered to cover themselves from head to toeldquoAfghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding womens rights said Roza Otunbayeva special representative of the UN secretarygeneral and head of the mission to AfghanistanAlso readWomens Day 2023 Govt will keep working to further womens empowerment says PM ModildquoIt has been distressing to witness their methodical deliberate and systematic efforts to push Afghan women and girls out of the public sphererdquo she addedThe restrictions especially the bans on education and NGO work have drawn fierce international condemnationBut the Taliban have shown no signs of backing down claiming the bans are temporary suspensions in place allegedly because women were not wearing the Islamic headscarf or hijab correctly and because gender segregation rules were not being followedAs for the ban on university education the Taliban government has said that some of the subjects being taught were not in line with Afghan and Islamic valuesldquoConfining half of the countrys population to their homes in one of the worlds largest humanitarian and economic crises is a colossal act of national selfharm Otunbayeva also saidldquoIt will condemn not only women and girls but all Afghans to poverty and aiddependency for generations to come she said It will further isolate Afghanistan from its own citizens and from the rest of the worldAt a carpet factory in Kabul women who were former government employees high school or university students now spend their days weaving carpetsldquoWe all live like prisoners we feel that we are caught in a cage said Hafiza 22 who goes only by her first name and who used to be a firstyear law student before the Taliban banned women from attending classes at her universityldquoThe worst situation is when your dreams are shattered and you are punished for being a womanThe UN mission to Afghanistan also said it has recorded an almost constant stream of discriminatory edicts and measures against women since the Taliban takeover womens right to travel or work outside the confines of their home and access to spaces is largely restricted and they have also been excluded from all levels of public decisionmakingldquoThe implications of the harm the Taliban are inflicting on their own citizens goes beyond women and girlsrdquo said Alison Davidian the special representative for UN Women in AfghanistanNo officials from the Talibanled government was immediately available for commentAt the carpet factory 18yearsold Shahida who also uses only one name said she was in 10th grade at one of Kabul high schools when her education was cut shortldquoWe just demand from the Taliban government to reopen schools and educational centers for us and give us our rightsrdquo she saidAhead of the International Womens Day about 200 Afghan female small business owners put together an exhibition of their products in Kabul Most complained of losing business since the Taliban takeoverldquoI dont expect Taliban to respect womens rights said one of them Tamkin Rahimi Women here cannot practice their rights and celebrate Womens Day because we cannot go to school university or go to work so I think we dont have any day to celebraterdquoThe UN Security Council was to meet later Wednesday with Otunbayeva and women representatives from Afghan civil society groupsAccording to the statement 116 million Afghan women and girls are in need of humanitarian assistanceHowever the Taliban are further undermining the international aid effort through their ban on women working for NGOsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever