UK Special Envoy for Women: Taliban’s Oppression of Women Has Worsened

Harriet Harman, the UK’s Special Envoy for Women and Girls, has expressed deep concern over the worsening repression of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban. Speaking at a recent United Nations meeting focused on Afghanistan, she emphasized that the situation is deteriorating.
“Daily reports show that the Taliban’s cruelty toward Afghan women and girls has worsened,” Harman said Wednesday on social media platform X. She called on the international community not to turn a blind eye and to take serious action in defense of Afghan women’s rights.
Her remarks were made during a joint session that included Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, and women’s rights activist Forozan Rasooli.
The meeting underscored the UK government’s continued commitment to supporting Afghan women and the importance of a strong international response.
Participants criticized the Taliban’s restrictive policies and urged the global community to act urgently to end the systematic discrimination against women in Afghanistan.
Forozan Rasooli also highlighted on X that the session addressed the “institutionalized gender-based discrimination” that Afghan women are facing under Taliban rule.