Taliban Respond to UN Chief’s Comments on Women’s Rights
The Afghan Taliban has criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for what they describe as irresponsible remarks regarding the treatment of women. They argue that Guterres lacks the qualifications under Islamic Sharia law to comment on the Taliban’s actions.
This reaction came after Guterres attended a press conference in New York where journalist Mariam Ramati asked about the dire situation for women and girls in Afghanistan, who, she noted, have been largely removed from public life since the Taliban’s return to power.
Ramati specifically questioned, “What specific steps will the United Nations take to hold the Taliban responsible for systematic gender apartheid?” It’s important to clarify that her concerns were well-founded; the Taliban has indeed prohibited women from public speaking since August 2024 and has imposed other harsh restrictions on their behavior.
In December 2022, they also banned women from working with non-governmental organizations, which further worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country.
The situation escalated following a devastating earthquake in early September, which saw the UN World Health Organization urging the Taliban to lift their ban on female rescue workers. This plea came after reports emerged of women trapped under rubble being unreachable by male rescue workers due to the Taliban’s policies. However, the Taliban flatly rejected calls to remove this ban.
In response to Ramati’s inquiry, Guterres expressed his deep concerns. He described the conditions in Afghanistan as “unbearable” and emphasized the detrimental impact of excluding women and girls from humanitarian efforts, saying it was “severely harmful to the entire population of Afghanistan.”
He further stated that the UN is striving to mobilize international pressure to convey the importance of allowing women to contribute to humanitarian efforts, insisting that assistance must effectively reach women and girls in Afghanistan.
Guterres reiterated, “The current situation is unbearable,” adding that gender equality is a core principle of the UN. He acknowledged that while there are numerous issues stemming from Taliban policies that contradict this principle, the deprivation of humanitarian assistance for women and girls is particularly urgent. “This is completely unacceptable in my opinion,” he remarked.
The Taliban quickly shot back, with spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemning Guterres’s comments on social media. He labeled the UN chief’s remarks as “irresponsible” and called for a better understanding of the realities in Afghanistan. Mujahid defended the Taliban’s stance by asserting that their laws are based on Islamic Sharia and criticized Guterres for his apparent ignorance of these principles.
Rosa Otunbayeva, Guterres’s special representative for Afghanistan, warned that the country is facing a “perfect storm of crisis,” emphasizing a lack of pragmatic solutions from the Taliban’s leaders. She cautioned that their ideology could severely hinder sustainable resolutions to ongoing issues, particularly concerning women’s rights. “There is a serious risk that generations will be lost, with long-term ramifications for the country,” she stated.
Hanifa Girowar, from a women’s rights organization, echoed these sentiments, describing policies of forced confinement and oppression as a form of “gender apartheid” in her remarks to the UN Human Rights Council.
Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, the UN reports having provided nearly $13 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. However, unless Guterres takes a firmer stance on financial support, it seems unlikely that the Taliban will heed his criticisms seriously.
