UN to Keep Engaging Taliban in Afghanistan Despite New Restrictions on Women

The UN plans to keep working in Afghanistan, engaging with all parties, including the Taliban, despite new laws silencing women and cutting ties with the UN.

The United Nations has promised to keep working with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, even as the country’s rulers enforce new, harsh restrictions on women. 

These new laws silence women’s voices in public and ban them from showing their faces. In response to the UN's criticism of these laws, the Taliban cut ties with the UN mission in Afghanistan.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, speaking in New York, defended the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and its head, Roza Otunbayeva. Otunbayeva recently condemned the new laws, calling them a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan's future. 

She pointed out that these laws add to the “already intolerable restrictions” on women’s rights, noting that even the sound of a woman’s voice outside the home is now considered a moral violation.

These laws were approved by the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. After taking power in 2021, the Taliban set up a ministry dedicated to the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.” According to the Taliban, the new laws align with their interpretation of Sharia law.

The Taliban's ministry has called on international organizations, countries, and individuals to respect Muslim religious values. On Friday, the ministry announced that it would no longer cooperate with UNAMA due to the UN's criticism of these laws.

Despite the Taliban's decision, Dujarric made it clear that the UN will not back down. “We have been very vocal about the decision to make women’s presence almost disappear in Afghanistan,” Dujarric said during a press conference. He stressed that the UN will continue to engage with all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.

Dujarric explained that the UN has always worked with impartiality and good faith, following its mandate while upholding the principles of human rights and equality. He emphasized that the UN will continue its mission as directed by the Security Council, pushing for human rights and equality in Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan remains tense, but the UN is determined to keep advocating for the rights of women and girls. The world is watching closely as this complex situation unfolds, with the UN standing firm in its mission to support human rights for all Afghans.