BERLIN (AP) 鈥 The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday decried increasing restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan, urging the country's Taliban rulers to reverse them immediately.
The Security Council 鈥渞eiterated its deep concern of the suspension of schools beyond the sixth grade, and its call for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan,鈥 it said in a press statement.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T眉rk pointed to 鈥渢errible consequences鈥 of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organizations.
Last week, Taliban authorities stopped , sparking international outrage and demonstrations in Afghan cities. On Saturday, they announced the exclusion of women , a move that already has prompted four major international aid agencies to in Afghanistan.
鈥淣o country can develop 鈥 indeed survive 鈥 socially and economically with half its population excluded," T眉rk said in a statement issued in Geneva. "These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan鈥檚 borders.鈥
鈥淭his latest decree by the de facto authorities will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people,鈥 T眉rk said, adding that banning women from working for NGOs will deprive them and their families of incomes and of the right to 鈥渃ontribute positively鈥 to the country's development.
鈥淭he ban will significantly impair, if not destroy, the capacity of these NGOs to deliver the essential services on which so many vulnerable Afghans depend," he said.
Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities when they took power last year, the Taliban have widely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
They have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.
鈥淲omen and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights," T眉rk said. 鈥淎ttempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed 鈥 it will merely harm all Afghans, compound their suffering, and impede the country鈥檚 development.鈥
