IEA asked to cease violations of women, girls’ rights

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some European countries call on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to immediately cease its violations of the human rights of women and girls and answer to the request for dialogue to address the concerns of the International community on this matter, according to a statement on Friday.

“Afghanistan is responsible under international law for its ongoing gross and systematic violation of numerous obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to which Afghanistan is a State Party,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry of Germany said.

“We support the initiative taken by Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, under Article 29 of CEDAW, who have formally taken steps to call on Afghanistan to cease its violations of CEDAW.”

“The supporters of this initiative will continue to also consider other possible options to be followed individually or collectively under CEDAW and other relevant human rights frameworks, while remaining attached to a focused dialogue with a view to strengthening the rights of women and girls.”

“This action is without prejudice to our firm position that we do not politically recognize the Taliban de facto authorities as the legitimate representation of the Afghan population. Afghanistan’s failure to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations is a key obstacle to normalization of relations. However, we stress that the Taliban de facto authorities remain responsible to uphold and fulfill the international legal obligations of Afghanistan, including on the elimination of discrimination of women and girls under CEDAW.”

IEA Deputy Spokesperson Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat on his X handle wrote that accusing the IEA of human rights violations and gender discrimination by some countries and organisations is absurd, human rights were protected in Afghanistan and no one is discriminated.

He wrote: “Regrettably, there is an orchestrated effort to disseminate misinformation about Afghanistan, using the testimonies of a few individuals, particularly escaped women, to portray a false narrative.”

Earlier, Mawlavi Abdul Karbir, deputy prime minister for political affairs, told a media outlet in an exclusive interview: “85,000 women are currently officially employed in the IEA, 85,000 women are working in medical and nursing sector, women are working in the education sector, airport, passport and statistics departments, there are some hospitals in Kabul which are run by our sisters, the situation is totally different here compared to the what is propagated outside.”

nh