Taliban clampdown on women's rights hampering Afghan reintegration, UN official says

Burqa-clad women walk past a Taliban security guard along a street in Jalalabad in Afghanistan. AFP

A senior UN official on Friday said restrictions on women's rights are hindering Afghanistan's reintegration into the international community, adding that the Taliban's participation in upcoming talks in Doha is not “legitimisation” of the isolated government.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Afghan Taliban have banned schooling for girls older than 12 and have curtailed many basic freedoms for women, including widespread restrictions on employment.

“By being deeply unpopular [the restrictions] undermine the de facto authorities' claims to legitimacy,” Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in the country, Unama, told the Security Council.

“And they continue to block diplomatic solutions that would lead to Afghanistan's reintegration into the international community.”

No country has yet given full diplomatic recognition to the Taliban.

Last year marked the start of several rounds of UN-hosted talks on Afghanistan to consider strengthening international commitment to the country.

The Taliban were not included in the first set of talks in May 2023 and then refused an invitation to the second in February 2024 because they wanted direct talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the exclusion of other representatives.

The third UN-convened meeting of special envoys and representatives on Afghanistan is set for June 30 and July 1 in Doha, which the de facto authorities have agreed to attend.

The Taliban accepted an invitation from Mr Guterres to participate in talks, extended by under secretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs Rosemary DiCarlo during her mid-May visit to Afghanistan.

“For this process to truly begin, it is essential that the de facto authorities participate at Doha,” Ms Otunbayeva said, warning however that high expectations “cannot realistically be met in a single meeting.”

Ms Otunbayeva said it “cannot be repeated enough that this sort of engagement is not legitimisation or normalisation.”

The UN agenda reportedly contains no discussion of women’s rights, and no Afghan women have been invited to participate in the meeting.

Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, criticised the exclusion of women from discussions. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 mandates full participation of women in international peace and security talks.

“Excluding women risks legitimising the Taliban’s abuses and triggering irreparable harm to the UN’s credibility as an advocate for women’s rights and women’s meaningful participation,” she said.

Since 2021, more than 50 edicts, orders and restrictions have been placed on women and girls, from travel restrictions and dress codes to the banning of secondary education, NGO work and beauty salons.

Afghanistan is ranked last on the Women, Peace and Security Index, with its women as well as UN officials having referred to the situation as “gender apartheid”.

Afghan women living under Taliban rule – in pictures