The United States announced new sanctions against the Taliban on Tuesday in retaliation for the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.
“Today, I am announcing restrictions on the issuance of visas…to current and former members of the Taliban and others believed to be responsible for or complicit in the repression of women and girls in Afghanistan through restrictive policies and violence,” said Secretary of State. Antony Blinken said in a statement on the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl.
Non-existent women’s rights
According to Antony Blinken, Afghanistan remains “for one year the only country in the world where girls are systematically banned from going to school beyond the sixth grade, with no return date in sight.”
Girls’ education is an extremely sensitive issue in Afghanistan, a majority-Sunni country. The Taliban, who regained power in August 2021 after the Americans withdrew, banned secondary education (middle and high school) for girls. Female students, on the other hand, are admitted to the university.
A recent suicide bombing at a student training center in Kabul killed 53 people, including at least 46 girls and young women, according to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua).
Source: BFM TV
