The Afghan Taliban regime came into power touting the fact that its rule will be drastically different and softer than during the 1990s. But it would appear that these promises were insincere judging by the clampdown against women of the country. Just days after banning them from attending universities, the Taliban have now also prohibited them from entering the workforce—particularly non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The order was officially given by the Ministry of Economy on December…
Posts tagged as “women”
AFP in Dawn, December 28th, 2022GENEVA: The Taliban must immediately revoke their policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, the UN rights chief insisted on Tuesday, condemning their ‘terrible’ consequences. “No country can develop — indeed survive — socially and economically with half its population excluded,” Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement. “These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of…
By Fatema Adeeb in ToloNews, dec 27, 2022 at 9:52 PMActing Minister of Petroleum and Mines Shahabuddin Delawar on Tuesday said that a decision will be made soon regarding schools and universities for female students. He referred to the decree of the Islamic Emirate’s supreme leader and said it was instructing a temporary order. He said the decision will be made in the first month of the next solar year (April 2023) based on the…
AFP in Dawn, Dec 27th, 2022LONDON: Christian Aid and ActionAid on Monday became the latest foreign aid groups to suspend operations in Afghanistan after the country’s Taliban rulers ordered all NGOs to stop women staff from working. Announcements by the two groups take to six the number of bodies who have paused their operations in the country. Christian Aid was “rapidly seeking clarity… and urging the authorities to reverse the ban”, head of global programmes…
By Pamela Constable inn The Washington Post, Dec 22, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. ESTKABUL — The spacious ballroom glittered with lights. Young women in chiffon and satin gowns sashayed among the tables or twirled slowly on the dance floor to tapes of rhythmic music. Amid “oohs” and “aahs,” the bride and groom were lowered from the ceiling in a golden cable car and escorted to a lotus-shaped throne. Tiny drones whirred in the air, recording…
AFP report, Dec 21, 2022 at 09.43 AM ISTWASHINGTON: Pakistan’s foreign minister on Tuesday voiced disappointment over the Taliban’s ban on university education for women but said the best approach remained engagement with Afghanistan’s Islamist rulers. “I’m disappointed by the decision that was taken today,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on a visit to Washington. But he said: “I still think the easiest path to our goal — despite having a lot of setbacks…
by Zubeida Mustafa in Dawn, December 16th, 2022PAKISTAN is regressing; the extent of its decline can be measured by the treatment meted out to its women. What happened at Mujahid Colony in Karachi not too long ago has set new standards of ‘beastliness’ on the part of state functionaries in subduing women. The confrontation between women and the police took place when the authorities, having decided to widen a road in North Nazimabad, sent demolition…
Report in The Daily Star, Dec 16, 2022After a long hiatus, Hefajat-e Islam, the Qawmi madrasa-based organisation is becoming active to strengthen the organisation once again and press home its 13-point demand, including scrapping “anti-Islam” women and education policies. The outfit is going to organise a conference tomorrow in Dhaka. As the tenure of current government is nearing an end, Hefajat has apparently taken a move to strengthen the organisation and put pressure on the…
By Banafsha Binesh in ToloNews, Dec 10, 2022 at 8:20 PMRoza Otunbayeva, the UN’s special representative for Afghanistan, on Human Rights Day urged the Islamic Emirate to stop restricting Afghans’ basic rights, especially those of women and girls. “As we mark Human Rights Day, we recall that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, the United Nations in Afghanistan is urging the de facto authorities to stop restricting the basic…
By Pamela Constable in The Washington Post, Dec 9, 2022 at 8:49 a.m. ESTKABUL — The Taliban regime, stepping up the pace and severity of Islamic punishments, carried out its first public execution this week since taking power 15 months ago. A convicted murderer was shot Wednesday, followed a day later by the lashing of 27 men and women in a soccer stadium on charges that included adultery, theft, drug use and running away from…
report in The News, December 08, 2022LAHORE: Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) launched Gender Parity Report 2021 here at a local hotel on Wednesday. Data collected to evaluate the status of women against more than 250 indicators that cut across six thematic areas regarding demographics, governance, health, education, economic participation and opportunities, and justice showed increase in violence against women (VAW) in the province. Rape was the most commonly reported crime, making…