US voices impatience with Taliban over morality law targeting Afghan women  

Rina Amiri (left) with U.N. Undersecretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. (Courtesy Amiri’s X). FILE - Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid speaking on state-run Afghan broadcaster. (VOA screen shot)

An American diplomat has condemned the Taliban’s new morality law in Afghanistan, warning that it “aims to complete the erasure of women from public life.” Rina Amiri, the United States special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, posted on social media late Tuesday that she raised concerns about the law during her recent meetings with counterparts in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. “My message was clear: Our support for the Afghan people remains steadfast, but patience with the Taliban is running out,” Amiri wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The way to legitimacy domestically & internationally is respecting the rights of the Afghan people.” The U.S. warning comes days after the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, enacted the contentious decree that orders Afghan women not to speak aloud in public and cover their bodies and faces entirely when outdoors.