UN Women’s Conference Highlights ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan, Global Gaps in Women’s Political Participation

The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Speakers at the fourth day of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) warned that Taliban policies in Afghanistan amount to a system of “gender apartheid,” while also highlighting persistent global gaps in women’s political participation.

According to a report by US Dispatch, discussions focused on what participants described as the systematic removal of women from public life in Afghanistan and broader structural barriers limiting women’s roles in politics worldwide.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on Afghanistan, said the Taliban has dismantled key justice institutions since returning to power in 2021, leaving no women judges, lawyers or prosecutors in the country.

He said women are barred from representing themselves in legal proceedings and must be accompanied by a male guardian to appear before tribunals.

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