Since September 1996, when the Taliban militia group took over the Afghan capital city of Kabul, women in the majority of Afghanistan have been sentenced to a "living death." The Taliban and their decrees have:
*forced women to beg on the streets simply to feed their children, for only a tiny percentage of women are allowed to work;
*banned girls from attending school after the age of eight; prohibited women from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative;
*forced women who do leave their homes to be covered from head to toe in a "burqa," with only a mesh opening to see and breathe through;
*required homes with women to paint their windows opaque so the women inside cannot be seen from the street;
*and severely limited women's access to medical services because male physicians are not allowed to treat women and female physicians can only work if they are veiled and treat only women.
A while ago I put together and page and sent it out regarding the situation of the women in Afghanistan. I wish I could say that the situation has disappeared, but it hasn't. The Taliban, under the pressure of the UN has changed A COUPLE of their regulations regarding women, but these are just token moves in a political battle to try and get themselves recognised Internationally as the head of Afghanistan. Currently only 3 countries in the UN recognise this right to the Taliban. We hope it stays that way until ALL RIGHTS are returned to the women of Afghanistan. Here is the first few paragraphs of a recent press release by The Feminist Majority.
-LaughingKoala
"Capricious and selective enforcement of the Taliban�s brutal gender apartheid edicts is a far cry from restoration of women�s rights."
-- Eleanor Smeal
"Recent stories show some indications that the Taliban regime is responding to international pressure either by taking small steps to selectively ease some of their draconian restrictions or by trying to create the impression that they are easing the restrictions." said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
"Since the reports show evidence of the Taliban orchestrating, limiting or controlling information available to observers and reporters, we must question the viability of any real improvements in women�s daily lives," said Smeal. "And it is no coincidence that these reports and public relations efforts come to us just as other reports show the Taliban losing ground in the civil war with the Northern Alliance to win control of Afghanistan."
A CALL FOR ACTION
The Feminist Majority Foundation, with the support of more than 130 U.S. organizations, has been urging the United States and the United Nations to withhold recognition of the Taliban until girls� and women�s human rights are fully and permanently restored. (Currently only three nations recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.)
Smeal also called on the United States to take a prominent role in helping the three million Afghan refugees. "The U.S. must open doors for Afghan women and girls, especially widows and their children and female students," she said, noting that in 1996 and 1997 no Afghan refugees were admitted, and only 88 were allowed to enter the U.S. in 1998. "We also need to provide more humanitarian aid for refugees and for women and girls in Afghanistan," she added.
"The international community must hold the Taliban accountable for their gross violations of women�s human rights by intensifying their supervision of the situation," Smeal said. "We need an independent, international team of human rights monitors to be able to travel freely throughout the country, so we will have access to unbiased reports on the treatment of women and girls and can prevent further human rights atrocities," she said.
To read the rest of this press release, please CLICK HERE .
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