CNN
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The United States is imposing new visa restrictions on some current and former Taliban members, members of non-state security groups and others believed to be involved in the suppression of women’s rights. and girls in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes more than a month after the Taliban announced it was banning women from attending universities and working with NGOs. Blinken cited those decisions as contributing to the new visa bans and said the US condemns the actions in “the strongest terms”.
“The most recent Taliban decrees ban women from going to universities and working with NGOs, and continue to implement previous Taliban measures to close secondary schools for girls. and limits the ability of women and girls to participate in Afghan society and economy,” Blinken said in a statement. Foreign Office declare.
“Through these decisions, the Taliban have once again shown their disregard for the welfare of the Afghan people,” he added.
The State Department statement did not name those affected by the move.
Blinken was referring to other actions by the Taliban that have undermined the rights of women and girls since the group took control of the country following a chaotic US troop withdrawal in 2021.
“To date, the actions of the Taliban have forced more than a million school-age Afghan girls and women out of their classrooms, with many women not graduating from college and countless Afghan women leaving. leave the workforce. These numbers will only increase over time, exacerbating the country’s already dire humanitarian and economic crises,” Blinken said.
Blinken said these steps would damage the Taliban’s standing globally.
“The Taliban cannot expect respect and support from the international community until they respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, including women and girls,” Blinken said. speak.
Blinken again pledged to work with allies to impose “significant costs” on the Taliban’s actions.
