US, EU and 19 other countries advocated for protection of the rights of Afghan women and girls

The United States, the European Union (EU) and 19 other countries signed on Wednesday a joint declaration advocating respect for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

“We are deeply concerned about Afghan women and girls, your rights to education, work and freedom of movement. We call on those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to ensure their protection. “ expresses the document that was promoted by the US State Department.

The joint declaration was jointly signed by Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal, Switzerland. , the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

“Afghan women and girls, like all Afghans, deserve a life of safety and dignity. All forms of discrimination and abuse must be avoided. In the international community, we are ready to help them with humanitarian aid and support, to ensure that their voice is heard, ”the text continues.

Signatory countries pledged to closely monitor “how any future government guarantees the rights and freedoms that have become an integral part of the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.” Since twenty years “.

The restrictions and mistreatment of women by the Taliban include:

1- Total ban on the work of women outside the home, which also applies to teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses were able to work in some hospitals in Kabul

2- Total ban on women’s activity outside the home unless they are accompanied by a mahram (close male relative, such as father, brother or husband)

3- Prohibition for women to deal with male traders

4- Prohibition of women to be treated by male doctors

5- Prohibition for women to study in schools, universities or any other educational establishment

6- Obligation for women to wear a long veil (burka) that covers them from head to toe

7- Whipping, beatings and verbal violence against women who are not dressed according to the rules of the Taliban, or women not accompanied by a mahram

8- Whipping women in public so as not to have their ankles covered

9- Public stoning of women accused of having had sex outside marriage (Several lovers are high under this rule)

10- Prohibition to use cosmetic products (Many women with painted fingernails have had their fingers cut off)

11- Prohibition on women speaking or shaking hands with men who are not mahram

12- Prohibition on women laughing aloud (No stranger should hear a woman’s voice)

13- Prohibition for women to wear high-heeled shoes, which would produce sound when walking (A man shouldn’t listen to a woman’s footsteps)

14- Prohibition for women to travel by taxi without mahram

15- Prohibition of the presence of women on radio, television or public meetings of any kind

16- Prohibition for women to practice a sport or to enter a sports center or club

17- Prohibition for women to ride a bicycle or motorbike, even with their mahram

18- Prohibition on women wearing brightly colored clothing. For the Taliban, these are “sexually attractive colors”.

19- Prohibition for women to gather for festive occasions such as Eid, or for recreational purposes

20- Prohibition for women to wash clothes on the banks of rivers or in public places.

21- Modification of all the place names containing the word “women”

22- Prohibition for women to appear on the balconies of their apartments or houses

23- Compulsory painting on all windows, so that women cannot see themselves from outside their homes

24- Prohibition for male tailors to take measures for women or to sew women’s clothes

25- Ban on public toilets for women

26- Prohibition for men and women to travel in the same bus

27- Prohibition of flared (wide) pants, even under a burqa

28- Prohibition on photographing or filming women

29- Prohibition of photographs of women printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops

Another report on the Taliban’s war on women conducted in 2001 by the Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the United States reveals: “The Taliban have claimed that they are trying to ensure a society in which women have a dignified and secure role. But the facts show the opposite. Women have been stripped of their dignity. They could not support their families. The girls were deprived of basic medical care and any semblance of schooling. They were even deprived of their childhood under a regime that took away their songs, dolls and cuddly toys, all banned by the Taliban. ”

As reported The conversationAfter the expulsion of the Taliban, women entered public life in Afghanistan en masse. This includes the fields of law, medicine and politics. Women make up more than a quarter of parliamentarians, and in 2016 more than 150,000 women were elected to local office.

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