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The Afghan government has claimed progress on women’s rights, citing efforts to address forced marriage and inheritance disputes. The statement came after UN officials criticized restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls during a Security Council discussion in New York. AnewZ reported that Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, said on Wednesday that positive changes had taken place over the past five years.
Khyber said women’s rights should be protected within the framework of Islamic Sharia. Responding to criticism, he said: “Human rights should not be used as a tool for propaganda. The rights of women and all people are neither a subject of political bargaining nor a means of imposing individual standards.”
According to the government, ministry officials reviewed 232 cases related to women’s rights in Kandahar over the past two months. The cases included dozens of inheritance disputes, forced marriages and more than 130 incidents of domestic violence.
In December 2021, Afghanistan’s leadership issued a decree banning forced marriage and recognizing widows’ inheritance rights. Khyber also said Islamic law protects women’s rights to own property, choose a spouse and engage in business.
UN criticizes restrictions on women and girls
At a UN meeting on Tuesday, Tami Bruce, the United States’ deputy representative to the organization, condemned restrictions on women’s access to education and employment.
“In Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to close off pathways that would allow young women to study, find work or receive training,” Bruce said.
“Over the past five years, the Taliban has systematically reversed decades of progress on women’s participation in peace and security. These practices are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for greater support for women-led organizations and urged action to ensure girls can access education. “Girls are being deprived of the education they need and have the fundamental right to obtain,” he said.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more than 2.6 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied secondary education since 2021. Women are banned from attending universities, and their access to medical training in fields such as midwifery and nursing is also restricted.
