KABUL: Afghanistan’s Powerful Women’s Movement members have called for the restoration of women’s fundamental rights during a protest gathering in Khost Province. Participants at the rally stressed that women and girls must be granted access to education, employment, and full participation in social life. The movement said that women’s basic rights have been systematically restricted over the past four years and urged both the international community and the Taliban authorities to ensure women’s access to their fundamental human rights. The group has previously issued similar appeals in response to mounting restrictions, repeatedly demanding that the rights of women and girls be upheld. Since the Taliban’s return to power in the summer of 2021, women’s rights in Afghanistan have faced increasing curbs. Most recently, the introduction of a new penal procedural code for courts has been criticized by activists as formalizing and legalizing the suppression of women.
