BRUSSELS: The Taliban have "severely violated and abused the rights of Afghan women and girls" in Afghanistan, an EU spokesperson said on Sunday ahead of the first anniversary of Taliban rule.
"The Taliban have failed to establish an inclusive political system, thereby denying the aspirations of the Afghan people," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Nabila Massrali said in a statement. On Monday, Afghanistan is to mark one year since the Taliban takeover last August, with basic women's rights suppressed, media freedom curtailed and large swathes of the country plunged into poverty, dpa news agency reported.
No country has recognized the Taliban's de facto government and women have taken to the streets in Afghanistan to denounce the restrictions on their rights to education, work and freedom of movement. On Saturday, a peaceful protest by dozens of women who were marching in the streets of Kabul chanting "Food, work, and freedom" was again attacked and stopped by Taliban forces, like previous demonstrations.
The European Union also condemned the treatment of the Hazaras and the Shia population in Afghanistan and the "systemic abuse of their economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights."
Reaffirming its commitment to the Afghan people, the EU called on the Taliban - "Afghanistan's de facto authorities" - to repeal policies violating the country's human rights obligations. "Afghanistan must not remain a safe haven for terrorists, nor a threat to international security," the statement added.
The Taliban seized back power in Kabul on August 15, 2021, after the United State's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan leading NATO to end a 20-year mission in the country. IANS
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