The G7 urges the Taliban to reverse laws that violate the rights of women and girls

MADRID Dec. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The G7 envoys for Afghanistan and their partners have urged the Taliban, the ‘de facto’ authorities in the Central Asian country, to reverse the latest laws enacted by the fundamentalist group that violate the rights of women and girls.

The representatives to Afghanistan of Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States have expressed “serious concern about the Taliban’s decisions to ban women and girls” study in medical institutes.

In this sense, they have assured in a joint statement that this ban “will have devastating consequences for all Afghans, especially mothers and babies,” while it will “further destabilize an already fragile health system.”

This measure is part of the law announced last August by the Taliban that “expands the already more than 80 repressive and discriminatory edicts aimed at excluding Afghan women and girls from education, public life and the economy.”

Likewise, they have expressed “serious concern” about the recent terrorist attacks in the capital, Kabul, and the “continuing threat that terrorism represents to stability” in the country, as some groups are still active and capable of ” plan” both internal and cross-border attacks.

“They recognize the actions of the Taliban to confront the threats of the Islamic State,” they stressed in the letter, recalling, however, that they must carry out actions to confront these threats in accordance with resolution 2593 of the Council of United Nations Security.

On the other hand, the countries have affirmed that stability in Afghanistan will only be achieved through a “credible and inclusive dialogue” that brings the country back to constitutional order “with a representative political system” that also meets its obligations under of International Law.

Likewise, they have focused on the need to continue providing aid to Afghans in the context of the humanitarian crisis in the country, which includes women, children, as well as minority ethnic and religious communities.

The decision to ban women from attending medical institutes was approved by the group’s supreme leader, Mullah Hebatullah Ajundzada. These institutions were one of the few avenues for female education in the country, which is why the measure has been criticized by the United Nations and various Human Rights NGOs.

The Taliban enacted the so-called ‘Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ in August, institutionalizing discrimination against women and expanding restrictions, including a “law of silence” that declares a woman’s voice as something that can only be heard “in cases of necessity.”