\u2018Deeply alarmed\u2019
\n UNITED NATIONS
\nStepping up the pressure on the Taliban, the UN Security Council has called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan, denouncing a ban on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups.
\n\u201cThe members of the Security Council are deeply alarmed by reports that the Taliban have suspended access to universities for women and girls, and reiterated their deep concern of the suspension of school beyond the sixth grade\u2026,\u201d the 15-member body said in a unanimously agreed statement, released Tuesday.
\nThe Council said the ban on women and girls attending high school and universities in Afghanistan \u201crepresents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.\u201d
\nIt added that the ban \u201cwould have a significant and immediate impact on humanitarian operations in the country\u201d, including those of the United Nations.
\nOn Saturday, the Taliban banned women from working in non-governmental organizations, saying the move was justified because some of the workers had not adhered to the required Islamic dress code.
\nThe Taliban had already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls.
\nThe Council urged the Taliban \u201cto reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.\u201d
\nIn its statement, the Council also condemned the ban on women working for NGOs, adding to warnings of the detrimental impact on aid operations in a country where millions rely on them.
\n\u201cThese restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the expectations of the international community,\u201d it said.
\nUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the Security Council\u2019s message, calling the latest restrictions on women and girls \u201cunjustifiable human rights violations\u201d that \u201cmust be revoked.\u201d
\nThe international community has made respecting women\u2019s rights a sticking point in negotiations with the Taliban government for its recognition and the restoration of aid.
\nEarlier Tuesday, the UN rights chief, Volker Turk, warned of the \u201cterrible\u201d consequences such policies would have.
\n\u201cNo country can develop \u2014 indeed survive \u2014 socially and economically with half its population excluded,\u201d Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
\n\u201cThese unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Deeply alarmed\u2019 UNITED NATIONS Stepping up the pressure on the Taliban, the UN Security Council has called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan, denouncing a ban on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. \u201cThe members of the Security Council are deeply alarmed by reports that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-304118","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n