OIC delegation to be in Afghanistan to discuss women's right to education, employment

OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha has said "it is the need of the hour to highlight concerns over the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women's rights in Afghanistan".

Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has planned to send a delegation to the country to discuss women's rights to education and employment with the de-facto authorities, Khaama Press reported. The decision came after the OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, in a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia said that it is the need of the hour to highlight concerns over the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women's rights in Afghanistan.

The mission, he continued, would concentrate on the Taliban government's actions against Afghan women and girls' fundamental rights to employment, education, and social justice. The latest action by the Taliban to ban women from working in NGOs generated protests by female university students and women activists in several regions of the country, as well as brought condemnations, globally.

Some foreign governments, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), OIC, and other international aid organisations, strongly condemned the action and urged the Taliban caretaker government to lift the ban and permit Afghan girls and women to pursue their educations and continue their work with NGOs, Khaama Press reported. Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.

These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes. According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP. (ANI)

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