Afghanistan world’s most repressive country for women: U.N.

Taliban have banned girls' education beyond sixth grade and women from public spaces such as parks and gyms

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, deprived of many of their basic rights, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

In a statement released on International Women's Day, the U.N. mission said that Afghanistan's new rulers have shown an almost “singular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homes.”

Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their pullout from Afghanistan after two decades of war.

Also Read | Violence against women, girls perpetrated by terrorists remains rampant: India at UNSC

They have banned girls' education beyond sixth grade and women from public spaces such as parks and gyms.

Women are also barred from working at national and international nongovernmental organisations and ordered to cover themselves from head to toe.

“Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women's rights," said Roza Otunbayeva, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general and head of the mission to Afghanistan.