Security Council Condemns Ban on Afghan Women Working for UN Issued by Taliban Government

Illustration of the UN Security Council meeting. (Wikimedia Commons/UNSomalia)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the Taliban government's ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations on Thursday, calling on the group's leaders to "urgently drop" its crackdown on women's and girls' rights.

The resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates and Japan described the ban as "unprecedented in the history of the United Nations," affirming the "indispensable role of women in Afghan society".

The resolution also said the ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations "undermines human rights and humanitarian principles."

UAE Ambassador to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh said more than 90 countries co-sponsored the resolution "from neighboring Afghanistan, from the Muslim world and from all over the world."

"This support... makes our fundamental message today even more significant - the world will not remain silent as women in Afghanistan are removed from society," she told the council, cited from Reuters, April 28.

The Security Council vote comes days before an international meeting on Afghanistan planned for Doha, Qatar on May 1-2.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will hold a closed-door meeting with special envoys for Afghanistan from various countries, to seek a unified approach in dealing with the Taliban.

"We will not support the Taliban's oppression of women and girls," Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood told the council.

"These decisions are unsustainable. They are not seen anywhere else in the world," he stressed.

"Taliban decree caused irreparable damage to Afghanistan."

The Taliban began imposing a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations earlier this month, after stopping most of the women working for humanitarian aid groups in December.

Since overthrowing the Western-backed government in 2021, they have also tightened controls on women's access to public life, including banning women from university and closing girls' high schools.

The Taliban say they respect women's rights according to a strict interpretation of religious law. Taliban officials said the decision on female aid workers was an "internal matter".