SYDNEY/KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government faces multinational legal action that could land it in the UN’s top court over its “contempt” for the rights of women and girls, government officials said.

Australia, Canada, Germany and The Netherlands announced in New York they were initiating the proceedings, which could lead to a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“The Taliban have demonstrated their contempt for human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “And they have engaged in a campaign of sustained and systematic oppression,” she said. Wong described the legal push, led by Germany, as “unprecedented”.

The four countries intend to argue that Afghanistan is flouting the Convention on the Elimination All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which it is a party, she said. Wong urged Afghanistan to participate in negotiations as provided for by the convention.

Australian FM urges Afghanistan to participate in negotiations

If negotiations fail, the convention stipulates that any party to the dispute can request arbitration. If the countries involved are unable to agree on organising arbitration within six months, any party can then refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice.

Taliban authorities have implemented an austere interpretation of Islamic law since returning to power in Afghanistan in Aug 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces. Women and girls have borne the brunt of restrictions which the United Nations has labelled “gender apartheid”.

Women can no longer study beyond primary school, go to parks, gyms or beauty salons, and are advised to leave their homes only with a male chaperone.

A recent morality law also banned women from speaking loudly in public. “We know the women and girls of Afghanistan are effectively being erased from public life by the various edicts the Taliban have issued,” Wong said.

On Monday, American actor Meryl Streep called for an end to the restrictions on women. “A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban,” Streep said in New York.

More than 20 countries issued a statement in New York supporting the four countries’ legal action against Afghanistan for its “ongoing gross and systematic violation” of the convention barring discrimination against women. ICJ rulings are legally binding but the court has no enforcement mechanism.

The Taliban government rejected on Thursday concerns raised at the United Nations General Assembly this week about the treatment of women in Afghanistan.

“The accusations made by some countries and parties on Afghanistan violating human rights and gender discrimination are unfounded,” Hamdullah Fitrat, a government spokesman, said.

“Human rights are protected in Afghanistan and no one is treated with discrimination. Unfortunately, an attempt is being made to spread propaganda against Afghanistan based on the say of few escaped women.”

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2024