A majority of the UN Security Council on Friday called for the repeal of Afghanistan鈥檚 new laws curtailing women鈥檚 rights, saying they 鈥榰ndermine鈥� efforts to reintegrate the country with the international community.
鈥榃e condemn in the strongest terms the Taliban鈥檚 continued systemic gender discrimination and oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan,鈥� a statement by 12 of the council鈥檚 15 member states said.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan, which took power in 2021 but is yet to be recognized by any other country, published a widely criticized law in August further tightening restrictions on women鈥檚 lives, including on their ability to move around in public.
The new 鈥榲ice and virtue鈥� law dictates that a woman鈥檚 voice should not be raised outside the home and that women should not sing or read poetry aloud.
Unrelated men and women are forbidden from looking at each other, and the law says women should only leave home for an 鈥榰rgent need.鈥�
The joint statement was read by the Japanese UN ambassador, with the support of Ecuador, France, Guyana, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Russia, China and Algeria were not part of the statement.
鈥榃e would like to stress that the Taliban鈥檚 actions of this kind only undermine the international community鈥檚 efforts to engage with them,鈥� the statement said.
The new law deepens 鈥榯he already unacceptable restrictions on the enjoyment by all Afghans of human rights and fundamental freedoms.鈥�
鈥楾he Taliban need to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls,鈥� it continued, adding that doing so 鈥榠s a prerequisite for a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.鈥�