March 8: UN, 'Afghanistan most repressive country in the world'

(ANSA) - KABUL, MARCH 08 - The United Nations has launched an appeal to the Taliban in Afghanistan to put an "immediate" end to the "draconian restrictions" on women's rights.

    "Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world when it comes to women's rights," said Rosa Otunbayeva, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (MANUA).

"It was heartbreaking to witness their methodical, deliberate and systematic efforts to keep Afghan women and girls out of the public sphere," she continued.

Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has increased its crackdown on women.

They are forbidden from attending university and secondary school.

They have also been barred from many public jobs, or are paid a pittance to stay at home.

They cannot travel without a male relative and must cover themselves completely when they leave the house.

In November, Italians also barred them from parks,

    "Confining half of the country's population to their homes, in the midst of one of the world's worst humanitarian and economic crises, is a colossal act of national self-harm", argues the UN.

According to economists, some 22.8 million Afghans - more than half of the population - face severe food insecurity and three million children are at risk of malnutrition.

The consequences of the Afghan government's actions "are not limited to women and girls. They affect all Afghans and will be felt for generations to come," said Alison Davidian, UN Women's Special Representative in Afghanistan.

   Today, on International Women's Day, about twenty women demonstrated in Kabul, as observed by AFP journalists.

(HANDLE).