The Afghan envoy at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva suggested that the issue of “gender apartheid” be an “item on the agenda of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights).”
The legal advisor of the Afghanistan Mission in Geneva, Mohibullah Tayib said this at a meeting voicing concerns over issues of human rights in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Hannah Neumann, a German member of the European Parliament, urged that “flexible visas” be provided for human rights defenders who are
“under threat” in Afghanistan.She said that the situation in Afghanistan “seems devastating, media spotlight has shifted – but our attention should not!”
“There are things we can do: advocate for gender apartheid to be recognized as a crime under international law, make sure that human rights defenders under threat are given flexible visas, so that they can continue their important work in Afghanistan,” she said.
Human rights defenders meanwhile urged the Islamic Emirate and the international community to pay attention to the rights of women in Afghanistan.
“In the current circumstances, there is no attention to the situation of women; neither by the Islamic Emirate nor from the international community,” said Frozan Daudzai, a human rights activist.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the Islamic Emirate is committed to the rights of women within a Sharia structure.
“The Islamic Sharia has determined the rights of men and women. The Islamic Emirate is committed to the rights which it has given to the men and women…. Afghanistan is an Islamic country, and its people also seek Islamic law and sharia laws,” Mujahid said.
The US special envoy for Afghan women and human rights, Rina Amiri, in a meeting held on the margins of the UN General Assembly last month, called on the Islamic Emirate to reconsider their decisions.
