Taliban to face international court over gender discrimination

The lawsuit is being brought nether the Convention connected the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was adopted by the UN successful 1979 and enforced successful 1981. Afghanistan ratified this normal successful 2003, anterior to the Taliban’s takeover successful 2021.

This unprecedented ineligible enactment gives Afghanistan six months to respond earlier the ICJ is expected to clasp a proceeding and perchance urge provisional measures. Advocates judge that adjacent if the Taliban disregard the court’s authority, a ruling from the ICJ could discourage different countries from normalising diplomatic ties with the Afghan regime. Signatories to the ICJ are mostly bound to travel its rulings.

There has been expanding concerns implicit reports that immoderate UN talks with the Taliban person excluded women’s rights from the docket successful a bid to unafraid the group’s participation. However, this litigation is supported by 3 pistillate overseas ministers: Penny Wong of Australia, Annalena Baerbock of Germany, and Mélanie Joly of Canada. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has besides endorsed the initiative.

In a caller enactment of defiance, Afghan women person launched an online run singing successful protestation aft the Taliban decreed that women could nary longer talk successful public. This is portion of a broader crackdown, with caller rules forbidding women from leaving location without being afloat covered and banning them from singing oregon raising their voices successful public.

Earlier connected Monday, speaking astatine a UN event, histrion Meryl Streep highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating, “A pistillate feline has much state than a pistillate successful Afghanistan. A vertebrate whitethorn sing successful Kabul, but a miss whitethorn not.” She joined Afghan activists and quality rights defenders, urging the planetary assemblage to support and reconstruct the rights of Afghan women and girls.

Asila Wardak, a person successful the Women’s Forum connected Afghanistan, emphasised that this conflict against sex apartheid successful Afghanistan is portion of a larger planetary combat against extremism. Akila Radhakrishnan, a strategical ineligible advisor connected sex justness astatine the Atlantic Council, added that this lawsuit could acceptable caller precedents for sex justice, perchance bringing much-needed alleviation to Afghan women and girls.

The nations progressive person expressed their willingness to negociate with the Taliban to extremity sex discrimination. However, if these talks beryllium unfruitful, they volition prosecute a proceeding astatine the ICJ.

(With inputs from Reuters)