DUBLIN — Ireland’s Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, has strongly condemned human rights abuses under Taliban rule, pledging continued support for Afghan women and girls.
During a meeting with members of the Afghanistan Women’s Forum, MacNeill denounced the Taliban’s escalating restrictions on women’s rights, according to a statement posted by Ireland’s mission to the United Nations on X.
“Ireland will continue to stand with Afghan women and girls,” she said.
More than three years after the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women and girls remain deprived of even their most basic rights. Activists have described life under the Taliban as suffocating, with one saying, “Even breathing has become difficult for women.”
The Taliban have issued nearly 100 decrees restricting women’s rights, with at least five new bans imposed over the past year. Their leader has further tightened restrictions under a newly enforced Amr bil Ma’ruf (Promotion of Virtue) law, severely limiting women’s freedom.
Among the latest measures, women have been banned from studying at health science institutes, they are prohibited from working with both domestic and international organizations, their salaries in certain sectors have been cut and the Taliban have declared women’s voices and faces awrat (to be concealed).
Moreover, residential buildings in areas where women are present must now have covered windows.
As Taliban restrictions intensify, international legal efforts to hold the group accountable have gained traction. The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has formally requested arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and the group’s chief justice.
The move has received backing from nine countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, and South Korea, in what could mark a significant step toward addressing gender persecution under Taliban rule.
