UN Security Council's 'Deep Concern' Over Taliban's Increased Restrictions on Women

The United Nations Security Council expressed concern in a resolution regarding the recent decision by the Taliban to prohibit women from pursuing medical education, warning that this decision could leave millions of women and girls without healthcare in the future. In a meeting held on Friday, December 13, the Council criticized the 'increasing violations' of human rights under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls who have been deprived of access to education beyond the sixth grade, economic opportunities, participation in public life, freedom of movement, and other basic rights. Recently, officials from nursing and midwifery training centers in Afghanistan reported that the Taliban leader issued a decree banning the education of women and girls in these centers. The Afghanistan section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on December 4, citing two informed sources, that this decree was implemented immediately: the Taliban leader 'prohibited' the education of girls in nursing and midwifery. In its resolution, the Security Council not only criticized the prohibition of women's medical education but also harshly condemned the Taliban's 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice' law issued in August of this year. This law further restricts women's rights, including prohibiting their voices from being heard in public. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously, extended the mandate of the UN expert team overseeing sanctions against the Taliban for another 14 months. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces after two decades of war. No country has yet recognized them as the government of Afghanistan. The United Nations states that recognizing this group is 'almost impossible' under conditions where the prohibition of women's education and employment remains in place and women cannot go out in public without a male guardian. Rosa Otunbayeva, the UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan, stated at the Security Council meeting that women and girls from 'almost all segments of society are facing gradual exclusion.' She indicated that the Taliban's order to ban female students from medical institutions and higher education classes will have serious consequences, and if fully implemented, it will have deadly repercussions for women and girls in particular, as well as for men and boys and the entire community. The ban on education for female students in nursing and midwifery training centers comes after the Taliban had previously prohibited Afghan girls and women from studying at universities and other higher education institutions. Most member countries of the UN Security Council had previously called on the Taliban government to repeal the 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice' law, which limits women's rights. Despite these requests, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that the Taliban government has recently once again asked media outlets to refrain from broadcasting music and similar content. Since regaining power, the Taliban has declared music broadcasting in media as prohibited and has repeatedly communicated this to the media. Previously, the Taliban had shut down some media outlets in Khost and several other provinces for broadcasting music and background music. The Taliban considers music to be forbidden from an Islamic perspective.