US restricts visas to Taliban due to cut in education for girls

Secretary of State for USA, Anthony Blinkenannounced on Tuesday the restriction of visas in his country for taliban and former Taliban who may be implicated in the repression of women and girls, including lack of access to education.

Blinken indicated in a statement that these restrictions will also apply to direct relatives of the Taliban designated by the Government of USA

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The State Department did not specify how many people this measure affects or give more details about it.

“Despite public assurances that they would respect the human rights of all Afghans, the Taliban have issued and enforced a series of policies or edicts that prohibit women and girls from fully and effectively participating in public life”said the US foreign minister.

In this context, he stated that Afghanistan it is the only country in the world where female students older than sixth grade (over 11 years of age) cannot go to school and have no prospect of doing so in the short term.

“We urge other governments to join us in taking similar actions to underscore the collective message that only a government that represents all people and protects and promotes the human rights of all individuals in Afghanistan can be considered legitimate”he urged.

According to officials of United Nations Development Program (UNDP)the ban on girls and women from Afghanistan of attending schools from the secondary cycle is not being applied in a linear way throughout the country.

The fundamentalists have reopened all schools, except for girls’ secondary schools, after the closure of all schools due to the instability related to their coming to power just over a year ago.

In his opinion, they needed to establish a system in accordance with Sharia law and Afghan customs and culture.

MORE INFORMATION: Taliban reject UN accusations on women’s rights in Afghanistan

The fall of Kabul in the hands of the Taliban in August 2021 represented a setback in terms of human rights for women in Afghanistan, such as the prohibition of adolescent girls from attending schools, segregation by sex in public places, the veto on traveling without a veil or the obligation to be accompanied by a male relative on long journeys.

Despite promising that they had changed, the Taliban have repeated the behavior of their previous regime between 1996 and 2001, when, based on a rigid interpretation of Islam and its strict social code known as pastunwali, they prohibited female attendance at schools and imprisoned women in the home.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.