International envoys raised concerns about restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan during meetings with the country's ruling Taliban in Qatar, United Nations' political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said on July 1.
The two-day, UN-led meeting was the first of its kind attended by the Taliban, which has not been internationally recognized since seizing power in 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war.
"Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern—from special envoys and from me—about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls," DiCarlo said in a statement.
"Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold, or fully develop economically and socially, if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population," she added.
Since the Taliban's return to power, most girls have been barred from high school and women from universities.
The Taliban have also stopped most Afghan female staff from working at aid agencies, closed beauty salons, barred women from parks and curtailed travel for women in the absence of a male guardian.
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