Taliban’s Treatment of Women ‘Could Amount to Crime Against Humanity’
by i24 News
i24 News – Taliban restrictions on the freedoms of women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan said Friday.
Richard Bennett and other UN rights experts said the Taliban’s targeting of women and girls deepen “flagrant violations of their human rights and freedoms that are already the most draconian globally and may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity.”
Since taking over Afghanistan last year, the Islamist Taliban has said women should not leave home without a male relative and must cover their faces, though some women in urban centers ignore the rule and some women were permitted to work in government offices.
The group has also drawn criticism over a U-turn on signals they would open girls’ high schools in March.
Western governments have said the group needs to reverse its course on women’s rights for any path towards formal recognition of the Taliban government.
The Taliban say they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.