Over 70 nations, EU sign statement on Afghan women's rights

New Delhi: More the 70 countries and EU representatives in a United Nations CSW statement said the ban on female education puts Afghan women and girls at increased risk of “gender-based violence, including child, early, and forced marriage” and it “undermines Afghanistan’s stability. According to a report in the Tolo News, “In addition, the order barring female employees of national and international NGOs from the workplace means that millions of Afghans will be unable to access life-saving humanitarian assistance,” the statement said. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, deprived of virtually all their basic rights, the United Nations said in grim assessments on International Women’s Day. Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their pullout from Afghanistan after two decades of war. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade and women are barred from working, studying, traveling without a male companion, and even going to parks or bath houses. Women must also cover themselves from head to toe and are barred from working at national and international non-governmental organizations, disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid. “Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women’s rights,” Roza Otunbayeva, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general and head of the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement earlier. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.