The U.S. Congress Hearing on Women; Taliban’s Behavior Poses a Dangerous Threat to Human Rights

Bayan News – The U.S. Congress Human Rights Commission, on the eve of the third anniversary of the collapse of the previous Afghan government, held a session on Tuesday (August 30) to discuss the human rights situation of Afghan women.

In this session, in addition to members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Special Representative for Women and Human Rights and a number of Afghan women’s rights activists participated and spoke.

Rina Amiri, in this session, described the situation of Afghan women as disastrous and said that the normalization of relations with the Taliban should be conditional on the observance of human rights.

She further stated that the indifference of the international community to the Taliban’s violation of women’s rights will be dangerous for human rights worldwide.

According to Amiri, the Taliban has repeatedly committed systematic violations of the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, freedom of expression, violence against officials and security forces of the previous Afghan government during its rule over the past three years.

The U.S. Special Representative said, “The Taliban’s treatment of women and girls has been more catastrophic than others, and these Taliban actions constitute gender-based abuse.”

She stated that Afghan women must be supported, and emphasized that any diplomatic engagement must be centered on human rights, especially the rights of Afghan women and girls.

On the other hand, Mitra Mehran and Vahida Amiri, Afghan women’s rights activists who participated in this meeting, called for the recognition of gender apartheid under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Vahida Amiri urged the U.S. Congress Human Rights Commission to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

These women’s rights activists also noted that the Taliban group benefits from U.S. financial assistance, and that this aid must be cut off immediately.

Additionally, Heather Barr, the head of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, emphasized at this meeting that Afghan women are experiencing life under a system of gender apartheid, and the world must act to recognize this phenomenon.

U.S. officials and human rights organizations are emphasizing the need to secure the rights of Afghan women, even as the Taliban continues to view the issues of women and human rights as internal matters, and has demanded that the international community not interfere in these affairs.

Afghan Academic Women Call the 5,000 Afghanis Salary “Humiliating”