The women’s rights group known as the “Purple Saturdays Movement” and Afghanistan Women and Children Strengthen Welfare Organization (AWCSWO) have called the Taliban’s report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) an “obvious lie.”
In a statement on Thursday, both organisations dismissed the Taliban report and said that the group cannot conceal the truth or disregard the heinous acts committed against women in Afghanistan.
They published a photo of a report attributed to the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed to the CEDAW. Within this report, the Taliban justifies their restrictions on women, claiming that violence against women contradicts their interpretation of Islamic Sharia. Furthermore, they label the ban on women’s education as “temporary,” promising a return to educational institutions under more favorable circumstances.
In their statement, they stated that “Currently, female journalists, women’s rights activists and civil society and hundreds of other women are being tortured and sexually assaulted by the Taliban group. Currently, the situation of women under the rule of the Taliban group in Afghanistan is dire.”
The organizations emphasize that the Taliban has a long history of imposing severe restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms. Under their rule, women are unjustly deprived of the fundamental rights to work and education.
They claim to have documented “thousands of Taliban crimes against women”, urging the United Nations and the international community not to fall victim to the Taliban’s web of lies and deceit.
“If the United Nations and the international community do not take serious measures regarding the status of women. A human disaster is happening in Afghanistan. Do not be fooled by the false letters of the Taliban group, we have thousands of recorded crimes from this group.” the statement reads.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, they have unleashed a wave of oppressive measures on women, systematically denying them access to education and work. Amnesty International and the International Human Rights Watch have both condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women, calling it a “humanitarian crisis.”
