The United Nations Security Council has announced a meeting on Wednesday, September 18, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
The session will include briefings from Roza Otunbayeva, head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Sima Bahous, executive director of U.N. Women, and a representative from Afghan civil society.
The meeting comes amid growing international concern over the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls. On September 6, in response to the Taliban’s newly announced morality law, members of the Security Council urged the group to swiftly reverse policies that curtail women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The Council expressed deep concern over the ongoing restrictions on women’s education, employment, and freedom of movement, calling on the Taliban to respect the rights of Afghan women and girls. “The Taliban must listen to and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls by respecting their rights to education and work, as well as their freedoms of expression and movement,” read a joint statement issued by 12 Council members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.
The statement condemned the Taliban’s systemic gender discrimination and warned that the new morality directive would deepen the already severe restrictions imposed on Afghan women. The decree gives inspectors broad powers to enforce policies that limit women’s participation in public life.
“This latest decree deepens the already unacceptable restrictions on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans,” the statement said, adding that these policies will have long-lasting negative effects on Afghanistan’s future.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the Security Council has repeatedly raised alarms over Afghanistan’s deteriorating humanitarian situation. In April 2023, the Council unanimously passed Resolution 2681, which called for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghan society. The upcoming session is expected to renew that call, with a focus on reversing policies that threaten Afghanistan’s stability and prosperity.
