U.N. Security Council members are wrestling over extending exemptions from a travel ban for selected Taliban leaders, with Russia and China pushing for the waivers to be renewed, and Western members resisting, citing the fundamentalist militia’s violation of women’s rights.
As Afghanistan undergoes a deep economic crisis with rising hunger and poverty, women in the country are facing the brunt. Economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the systematic restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime have only increased the suffering of women and girls in Afghanistan.
A women advocacy group based in Afghanistan has urged the UN agencies to immediately provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan population who are affected and displaced as a result of recent armed conflicts in the country.