Bayan News – Alison Davidian, head of the UN Women’s Office in Afghanistan, expressed grave concern about the plight of Afghan women and girls on the occasion of the third anniversary of the collapse of the previous Afghan government and the rise to power of the Taliban.
Speaking at the organization’s headquarters on Tuesday (August 13), she told the international community, “We cannot leave Afghan women to fight alone.”
According to this UN official, the situation of Afghan women and girls is dire and this situation has a negative impact on the fate of all women.
Davidian warned in this speech that if the international community abandons Afghan women, it will lose the moral ground for the struggle for women’s rights everywhere in the world.
This UN official also said that the Taliban has completely excluded women from the political and social spheres, and now there is no woman in Afghanistan at the national or provincial level in a leadership position or position of influence.
According to her, the political marginalization of women is also reflected in the social sphere. Ms. Davidian added that 98% of the women who spoke with the UN Women’s Office said they have a limited or zero role in decision-making in their communities.
She further noted that this situation has led to a 60% reduction in the impact of women on decision-making at the family level.
According to the head of the UN Women’s Office in Afghanistan, while Afghan women could run for president three years ago, now they cannot even decide when to go to the market and buy food.
According to Davidian, 68% of the women the organization spoke with said they were in “poor” or “very poor” mental health condition. She added that 8% of them said they knew at least one woman who had attempted suicide.
Alison Davidian believes that the restrictions the Taliban has imposed on women’s lives will also affect the rights of women and girls in future generations.
The Taliban, in its first actions after arriving in Afghanistan, implemented severe policies towards women and girls, the most important of which are the ban on girls’ education and the ban on women working in government offices, which are still being enforced.
Human Rights Watch: The Taliban Have Created the World’s Most Serious Crisis for Women’s Rights
