The Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity, according to a UN report presented on Monday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
"The Taliban's intentional and calculated policy is to repudiate the human rights of women and girls and to erase them from public life," UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett told the United Nations Human Rights Council. "It may amount to the international crime of gender persecution for which the authorities can be held accountable."
The Taliban have in the past said they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islam and Afghan culture and that they plan to open schools in the future once they establish certain conditions for girls. In December, the Taliban banned most female aid workers, prompting many aid agencies to partially suspend operations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis unfolding during the cold winter months.
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