The European Council on Tuesday announced that it had sanctioned two senior Taliban ministers as well as officials and entities from Russia, South Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and Syria.
Ahead of the International Women’s Day on 8 March, the European Council said in a statement that individuals and entities sanctioned were involved in “serious human rights violations and abuses, particularly sexual and gender-based violence. “
The Taliban ministers of Higher Education, Nida Mohammad Nadim, and the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the European Council said, have been sanctioned for their roles in “decrees banning women from higher education and gender-segregated practices in public spaces.”
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Joseph Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the announcement meant that “we move from words to action.”
“With today´s decision, we are enhancing efforts to counter sexual and gender-based violence, to ensure that those responsible are fully accountable for their actions, and to combat impunity.” Borrell added.
The Taliban Education Minister, Nida Mohammad Nadim, has been responsible for banning women from universities last December, which he defended as “necessary to prevent mixing of genders”.
