UNITED NATIONS — UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated on Tuesday that the United Nations remains steadfast in pushing the Taliban on the issue of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.
His remarks came in response to a question about whether it is “time to change the course of relations given the socioeconomic situation in Afghanistan.”
“We continue on the same path in terms of Afghanistan, which is engaging with the de facto authorities because they are the de facto authorities in Afghanistan. We also continue to push them constantly and continuously on the issue of the rights of women and girls,” Mr. Dujarric told reporters.
He acknowledged that women and girls are being denied their rights “on a daily basis.”
“We continue to push for greater humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan who have suffered and who continue to suffer,” he said. “The Secretary-General, as you will recall, has invited envoys on Afghanistan to attend a meeting in Doha at the end of this month in order to bring some clarity and consistency to the way the world deals with the situation in Afghanistan while continuing to put the human rights of women and girls at the forefront.”
Dujarric also mentioned the recent visit of the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs to Afghanistan, quoting her as saying that women and girls in Kabul spoke of their dreams, mainly to receive the same education as men.
This comes as the Taliban has deprived girls and women of education, work, and public space over the past three years.
