2021 worst year for Afghan women as Taliban rolled back access to their rights: Human Rights Watch

The Human Rights Watch termed 2021 as an unfortunate year for women "mostly because of Afghanistan", reported Tolo News.

The Associate Director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr on Tuesday said that the "Taliban" rolled back Afghan women's access to their rights.

Barr also referred to the international community and said that it "didn't do much" to protect Afghan women, reported Tolo News.

"So, it is the end of the year, and we are looking back on what kind of the year 2021 has been for women's rights around the world, and unfortunately, it hasn't been a good year, I mean that is mostly because of Afghanistan," she told Tolo News.

"I think that what we saw after August fifteenth, is that as the Taliban rolled backed the right to education, the right to employment, the right to access health care, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of association and the right to live free from violence for women and girls across Afghanistan," she added.

A prominent Afghan women rights activist, Mahbouba Seraj, voiced concerns over the current status of Afghan women.

"When the right of education is taken from girls and women, and they are incapable of doing their activities, and all kind of access is restricted for women, this is the worst situation for women in the country," she said.

According to her, the main reason for the current crisis in the country is due to women's isolation from society, including governmental affairs.

"I remained here (Afghanistan) to be the voice of women and to warn that no government can survive," Seraj said.

"The silence of the international community is one of the reasons that women are faced with the worst situations," said Madina Darwazi, a women rights activist.

The Islamic Emirate has been facing criticism inside and outside Afghanistan for imposing restrictions on women. (ANI)