The Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, met with the Taliban’s Chief Justice, Abdul Hakim Sharai, to discuss the ongoing review of laws and to advocate for the extension of the licenses for female lawyers.
“While noting that 1,300 male defense lawyers had their licenses renewed, she urged the Taliban Minister to renew licenses for women defense lawyers, whose expertise remains critical for enabling equitable access to justice for Afghan women and children,” UNAMA said in a tweet on Sunday.
Before the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, more than 250 female judges and hundreds of female lawyers and prosecutors worked in Afghanistan’s judiciary system, whom the group removed from their roles.
A group of UN legal experts recently criticised the Taliban’s Sharia-based judicial system, calling it non-independent, masculine, and a “human rights catastrophe”, and called on the group to “immediately reverse” its approach.
