By 
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called on the Taliban on Tuesday to alter policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, expressing concern over the country’s “growing deterioration” of human rights.
In the latest blow to women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power last year, the authorities prohibited women from working in non-governmental organizations on Saturday, provoking worldwide outrage. The Taliban have already banned women from attending universities and girls from attending secondary school.
The UN Security Council’s 15 members issued a statement saying they were “deeply disturbed” by the rising limitations on women’s education and called for “the full, equal, and meaningful engagement of women and girls in Afghanistan.”
The Council also criticized the prohibition on women working for NGOs in its statement, adding to the cautions over the negative effects on humanitarian operations in a nation where millions depend on them.
The Taliban’s promises to the Afghan people and the expectations of the international community, it argued, are both violated by these limits. The newest limitations on women and children were described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “unjustifiable human rights breaches” that “must be repealed,” echoing the UNSC’s position.
In talks with the Taliban leadership for its legitimacy and the return of aid, the international community has made respecting women’s rights a sticking point.
