President of the European Union (EU) Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has said that the Taliban want women to be invisible and their rights are increasingly under threat. She made these remarks in a speech delivered at the plenary session of the EU’s Parliament on Monday, November 21.
“The Taliban want women to be invisible. We want them to thrive,” She said, pointing to the Taliban’s recent restrictions on women’s presence in public spaces. “Until they can regain their rightful place in society, we will continue to amplify their voice.”
She further stated in her speech that reports from Kandahar indicate that the world will soon witness public executions, stoning, flogging, and amputations.
Implying that the Taliban have violated their initial commitments regarding women’s rights, she added that the EU’s Parliament is committed to the people of Afghanistan, not to its rulers.
Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on women’s rights to work and public participation. They have banned girls above the 6th grade from schooling.
These restrictions triggered women’s protest rallies in different parts of the country but the Taliban regime responded violently by arresting and imprisoning the protesters.
Since the beginning of November, the Taliban have arrested a total of three women human rights defenders, including Zarifa Yaqobi. Despite repeated calls for their release, there is no information about their whereabouts as yet.
In latest reactions, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to Afghanistan Karen Decker called for release of Zarifa Yaqobi and her colleagues once again today, November 22.
Moreover, Sarah Knibbs, Regional Director of the UN Women in Asia and the Pacific, has visited Afghanistan this week. “Afghan women continue to be systematically erased from society,” she tweeted about the situation of women in the country.
Visiting Kandahar, the UN Women official has meet women partner of the UN agency who, she said, provides life-saving services for women.
