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23-06-2023
Bureau Report
KABUL/ ISLAMABAD/ UNITED NATIONS: It will be “nearly impossible” for the international community to recognize the Taliban government as long as restrictions on women and girls remain in place in Afghanistan, the United Nations envoy to the country and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said.
Roza Otunbayeva told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the Taliban have asked to be recognized by the UN and its member nations, “but at the same time, they act against the key values expressed in the United Nations Charter”.
“In my regular discussions with the de facto authorities, I am blunt about the obstacles they have created for themselves by the decrees and restrictions they have enacted, in particular against women and girls,” Otunbayeva told the Security Council.
“We have conveyed to them that as long as these decrees are in place, it is nearly impossible that their government will be recognized by members of the international community,” Otunbayeva said.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government is not officially recognized by any foreign country or international organization since seizing power in August 2021 as United States and NATO forces were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war.
The Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, but 
have since started to enforce restrictions on women and girls, including barring women from most jobs and public places such as parks, baths and gyms. Girls are also banned from education beyond sixth grade.
The Taliban also have brought back their strict interpretation of Islamic law, including public executions.
Despite appeals to the Taliban, Otunbayeva reported no change to the restrictions on women and girls, including an April ban on Afghan women working for the UN.
Otunbayeva said the Taliban had given her no explanation for the ban, “and no assurances that it will be lifted”, according to the UN News site.
“It is also clear that these decrees are highly unpopular among the Afghan population. They cost the Taliban both domestic and international legitimacy while inflicting suffering on half of their population and damaging the economy,” Otunbayeva said, according to UN News.
