Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned the Taliban for effectively erasing women from Afghanistan’s public life, describing the regime’s actions as “imprisoning half their society’s population.”
Speaking at the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Wong underscored the international community’s growing concern over the Taliban’s systemic violations of women’s rights since retaking control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Wong emphasized that Australia, along with Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, had invoked Afghanistan’s responsibility under international law for its treatment of women and girls. “Earlier this week, with Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, Australia invoked Afghanistan’s responsibility under international law for the violations of the rights of women and girls,” she said. “The Taliban have erased women from Afghanistan’s self-portrait, effectively imprisoning half their population. This not only halves the potential of their country but depletes the soul and prospects of a nation.”
Wong stressed that no country can fully develop without the full participation of its entire population, urging global attention to the plight of Afghan women.
Since seizing power, the Taliban has imposed increasingly oppressive restrictions on women, including banning them from education, employment, and freedom of movement and expression. The regime’s policies have drawn widespread condemnation from the international community, which continues to call for the protection of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
