Mitraz Mehran, an Afghan women’s rights activist, criticised the international community’s approach to engaging with the Taliban during a UN Security Council meeting, stating that these approaches have strengthened the group’s position and emboldened it in suppressing Afghan citizens. She said the Taliban have issued more than 230 decrees and orders since returning to power, which she claimed have even criminalised women’s “voices and faces”. According to Mehran, these edicts target women, girls, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities, and restrict many of their fundamental rights, including education, employment, healthcare, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. Referring to certain Taliban laws and regulations, she said these orders have become tools for institutionalising restrictions against women, civil activists, journalists, and religious and ethnic minorities. Mehran described Taliban policies as “gender apartheid” and warned that the continuation of this path will plunge Afghanistan into an even deeper crisis. According to her, the restrictions imposed on women are a fundamental part of the Taliban’s governance. She also criticised the Doha process, saying that excluding women and other influential Afghan groups has undermined the legitimacy of the process. Mehran called on the Security Council, UNAMA, and the international community to refrain from any political or diplomatic actions that would lead to normalising Taliban policies, including recognition of or agreement with the group. She further emphasised the full and meaningful participation of Afghan women and civil society institutions in all UN-led political processes, and called for more protection for women at risk and for preventing the forced return of refugees to Afghanistan.
