The United Nations’ top human rights official has condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan, calling it a form of “state-sponsored gender apartheid” that is unparalleled in the world today.
Speaking at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said that Afghan women and girls are “virtual prisoners within their homes,” denied even the most basic freedoms necessary for daily life, including movement, education and employment.
“I am deeply concerned for the long-term future of a country that is self-harming on a national scale,” Türk said in remarks quoted by the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have reportedly issued more than 100 decrees restricting women’s rights. Girls are barred from attending school beyond sixth grade, universities remain off-limits to women, and many are prohibited from working or moving freely in public spaces.
Human rights organizations, including the U.N. special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, have repeatedly urged the international community to formally recognize the Taliban’s actions as gender apartheid.
In response to the widespread violations of women’s rights, Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has filed an application for the arrest of the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
