KABUL: Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, says Taliban policies are having serious negative impacts on the health of Afghan women and girls. In his latest report released on Wednesday, Bennett wrote that since the Taliban’s return to power, a systematic gender-based discriminatory regime has been established, restricting women’s access to education, employment, healthcare, freedom of movement, and participation in public life. He described the system as amounting to crimes against humanity and warned that the restrictions not only violate women’s fundamental rights but also threaten the sustainability of Afghanistan’s healthcare system. Bennett called for urgent and sustained action by the international community to end the situation. The Taliban have not yet responded to the new report. However, they have previously dismissed Bennett’s findings as “far from reality” and barred him from visiting Afghanistan in August 2024. Despite this, Bennett has pledged to continue documenting human rights violations in the country.
