UAE calls on Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls

Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Thursday that it was “unacceptable” that girls were still not allowed to attend secondary schools. Afghanistan More than a year after the Taliban took power.

“It makes gender segregation possible,” Ms Nusaybe told the UN Security Council at its annual meeting, which focused on female leadership as a path to peace in conflict-torn regions.

“We find ourselves still fighting the misconception that women and girls are seen as victims or survivors, rather than agents of change.”

Ms Nusseibeh said the exclusion of female Afghans from public and social life was another example of the many forms that violence against women and girls could take.

“There is a lack of action now more than ever,” she said. “We need to stop talking about empowering women and just empowering them.”

She added that when women were involved in the economy, “they were more resistant to violence”.

She stressed the importance of women’s access to technology to help them achieve economic equality with men.

“Their voices need to be heard and amplified in schools, in their classmates and in all other areas of public life to which they belong,” Ms Nusseibeh said. “Let’s give them the digital tools to compete with men and boys in the same world.”

Sima BahouWomen’s organizations in conflict-affected countries are severely underfunded, down from $181 million in 2019 to $150 million in 2020, the UN Women executive director said.

“By 2022, 77 percent of women’s civil society organizations in Afghanistan have received no funding and no longer have projects,” Ms. Bahous said.

She also noted that by 2021, women in conflict-affected countries will be 5% less represented in national parliaments than the global average and 12% lower in local government.

Updated: 10/20/2022 7:53pm