Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) strongly condemned the recent decisions by the Taliban banning women from attending universities and working in national and international humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan.
In a statement published today, Natalia Kanem stated that these decisions by the Taliban violate international human rights law and deprive women and girls of the rights they deserve as human beings.
Natalia Kanem added, “Taliban by depriving women and girls of the right to education, deny the contributions of half of the Afghan population to the national development, economic growth and stability of the country.”
She also emphasized that women can play a vital role in responding to the humanitarian crisis.
The executive director of the UNFPA has added that each month, 24,000 women give birth in remote areas of Afghanistan, and these women need health services to deliver safely. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, counts on female humanitarian workers to deliver life-saving health and protection services to women and girls in Afghanistan, Natalia Kanem added.
UNFPA Executive Director called on the de facto Taliban authorities to allow women and girls to return to school and to allow women working for non-governmental organizations to continue their life-saving work for the millions of Afghan people in dire need.
Recently, in addition to banning university education for women, the Taliban have also banned women from working in non-governmental organizations.
These two recent decisions of the Taliban have ignited global-level reactions. Countries of the world, including Islamic countries, have condemned these decisions.
