Bay: Karim Moradi
Bayan News – Richard Bent, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, stated in a session held at the United Nations headquarters that Afghan women have continued their protests and resilience, which have yielded significant results.
The session, titled “Fighting Gender Discrimination: In Afghanistan,” saw participation from Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Women’s Rights and Human Rights, Richard Bent, and Milanee Virover, the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security.
During the session, Bent called for full participation of Afghan women in political decision-making and believed that the distrust of Afghan women and girls towards the global community can be addressed through practical actions by the international community.
On the other hand, Rina Amiri emphasized that unless the Islamic Emirate takes tangible steps regarding Afghan women and girls, it will not receive attention from the international community.
She explicitly stated, “When we are asked why we focus on the Taliban, why don’t we engage with others and the people of Afghanistan? This is something we are working on, and it is also the consultative mechanism between the United States and Afghanistan. This is one of the efforts that must continue, and all Afghans inside and outside Afghanistan must work meaningfully and contribute.”
Meanwhile, Milanee Virover strongly criticized the restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls by the Islamic Emirate during the session.
She added, “Many individuals present at this session are working towards taking action on investigating and documenting the systematic elimination of women’s rights in Afghanistan. Reports on gender apartheid in Afghanistan have been submitted to human rights institutions, and we ask the International Criminal Court to investigate this matter.”
However, officials of the caretaker Kabul government rejected all of these statements and emphasized that there is no gender apartheid in the Islamic Emirate.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the caretaker Kabul government, stated that the rights of women and men in Afghanistan are secured based on Islamic principles and it is the responsibility of the government to uphold them.
