Taliban: "Working Women in Afghanistan Should Not Go Out for the Time Being"

"Safety Guarantee Difficult... Emphasis on Temporary Measures"
Concerns Raised by UN and Human Rights Organizations Over Women's Rights Violations

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Taliban, an armed faction in Afghanistan, has announced that working women in Afghanistan are not allowed to go outside, sparking controversy over human rights violations. The Taliban stated that the ban on going out is a temporary measure until safety measures are in place, but human rights organizations fear that the Taliban may commit the same violations of women's rights as during their first rule.

According to the British BBC on the 24th (local time), Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said at a press conference that "working women in Afghanistan must stay at home until an appropriate system ensuring their safety is established," emphasizing that it is a "very temporary procedure." Earlier, the Taliban announced on the 16th, immediately after occupying Kabul, that they would protect women's rights to go out and work.

Spokesperson Mujahid explained, "Our security forces have not been trained on how to treat women," and "we request that women stay at home until safety measures are fully in place." This order to ban women from going out is interpreted as a response to international criticism following human rights violations such as Taliban members shooting or assaulting women who went out without wearing burqas across Afghanistan.

However, the international community is expressing concern that the Taliban is revealing its true nature. At a special meeting of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland, the day before, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized, "We have received reports that the Taliban have carried out summary executions of civilians and Afghan government forces who have lost combat capability, restricted women's freedom of movement and access to education, recruited child soldiers, and suppressed peaceful protests and dissenting opinions."

Within Afghanistan, there are concerns that the Taliban may once again violate women's rights by enforcing Sharia law (Islamic law) as they did during their first rule (1996?2001). At that time, the Taliban banned women's social activities, going out, and education, and ruled through terror.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.