UN Secretary General: Taliban Failed to Keep Promises to Women

New York, MINA – The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, Taliban have not kept their promises regarding the rights of women and girls.

Guterres said after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August, the group had vowed to defend the rights of women, children, and minority communities.

He also urged groups ruling the country to fulfill their obligations under international human rights norms and humanitarian law, Anadolu Agency reported.

“The essence of the promises is to enable women to travel, work and enjoy their basic rights and for girls to have effective access to all levels of education, just like boys,” he told reporters in UN headquarters in New York.

“I am very concerned to see the promises made to Afghan women and girls by the Taliban being broken. Promises being broken are causing broken dreams for Afghan women and girls,” he added.

Guterres said Afghan women and girls “need to be the center of attention.”

The UN Secretary General further demanded the international community to help Afghanistan in much needed quantity to prevent the country from falling into large scale collapse.

He said ultimately the responsibility for “finding a way back from the abyss rests with the Taliban”.

Guterres’ comments come as Afghanistan faces an economic crisis following the takeover of the Taliban that affected half of the country’s population, or about 18 million people.

Guterres says 80 percent of Afghanistan’s economy is informal with women playing a “larger role” there. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)