The latest: The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) said that even after banning women from pursuing education and going to work, the Taliban have not faced any significant consequences from the international community.
Go deeper:
- SIGAR has also reiterated that the Taliban have not indicated that they will adjust their policies towards girls’ education in return for more international assistance.
- It added that the US State Department has reported that they haven’t amended contributions to the UN programming and efforts to support Afghan people too.
- However, it added that one organization did act against these decrees to protest the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls’ education and employment.
- SIGAR stated how on January 12, Australia’s men’s cricket team withdrew from a series of upcoming matches against Afghanistan.
- On December 28, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced it had suspended some of its “time-critical” programs in the country due to the Taliban’s restrictions on female staff.
Zoom out: What’s important to note here is that despite the regressive decrees being implemented by the Taliban, the international institutions have sent a wave of aid packages to the country. This is mainly because many have warned of devastating humanitarian crisis if the global community does not help Afghanistan upfront.
- In fact to diffuse the situation, UN officials had met with Taliban leaders several times. In late January, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Executive Secretary for UN Women Sima Bahous traveled to Afghanistan to engage with and urge Taliban leaders to reverse their restrictions on women’s employment and education.
- While they met some Taliban leadership in Kabul, Mohammed was denied a meeting with Taliban supreme leader in Kandahar. Instead, they were greeted by Taliban’s deputy governor for Kandahar.
