UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK — A coalition of 43 countries has issued a joint statement at the United Nations strongly condemning the Taliban administration’s sweeping restrictions on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, demanding an immediate and unconditional reversal of all discriminatory policies.
Delivered by France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jérôme Bonnafont, on behalf of the signatory nations, the statement emphasized that the de facto authorities have entrenched a systematic policy of gender segregation and exclusion since seizing power in August 2021. The international group highlighted that Afghanistan remains the only nation globally where girls are officially barred from secondary and higher education, alongside severe prohibitions on female employment, freedom of movement, and public participation.
The coalition raised serious alarm over the heavy-handed enforcement of these decrees, noting that women and human rights defenders who defy or challenge the restrictions face arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and retaliatory measures.
Furthermore, the statement underscored that excluding more than half of the country’s population from economic and social life severely undermines national development and deepens the ongoing humanitarian crisis, particularly given restrictions on women working with humanitarian organizations.
The joint appeal reaffirms the international community’s stance that sustainable peace, economic viability, and diplomatic engagement with Kabul remain tightly bound to the restoration of fundamental human rights and basic freedoms for all Afghan citizens, especially women and girls.