The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an interactive dialogue Monday on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett said.
The session is scheduled to begin at 16:15 CEST, or 18:45 in
Afghanistan, and will be streamed live online.
The dialogue comes as the Taliban's restrictions on Afghan
women and girls continue to deepen five years after the group returned to power
in Kabul.
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where
girls are barred from education beyond the sixth grade, with an estimated 2.4
million girls excluded from secondary education, according to recent U.N.
figures.
The Taliban have also imposed sweeping restrictions on
women's employment, freedom of movement and participation in public life.
Recent U.N. Women research found that 90% of Afghan women surveyed in 2026 said
they needed permission from a male family member to leave home, while more than
half said they left their homes only twice a month or less.
The upcoming dialogue follows continued warnings from
Bennett and other U.N. experts that the systematic discrimination and
oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan may amount to gender persecution.
U.N. experts have urged the Taliban to reverse restrictions affecting women's
education, employment, movement and access to public life.
The Taliban have defended their policies as being consistent
with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture, despite widespread
international condemnation.
