Page 6 - aruba-today-20220728

A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 28 July 2022
Amnesty: Taliban crackdown on rights is ‘suffocating’ women

By RAHIM FAIEZ no one will be able to find
Associated Press your body.”
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The The report said rates of
lives of Afghan women and child, early and forced
girls are being destroyed by marriage in Afghanistan
a “suffocating” crackdown are surging under Taliban
by the Taliban since they rule.
took power nearly a year The increase, Amnesty said,
ago, Amnesty International is fueled by Afghanistan’s
said in a report released economic and humanitar-
Wednesday. ian crisis and the lack of ed-
After they captured the ucation and job prospects
capital, Kabul, in August for women and girls. The
2021 and ousted the inter- report documented cas-
nationally backed govern- es of forced marriages of
ment, the Taliban present- women and girls to Taliban
ed themselves as having members under pressure
moderated since their first by the Taliban member or
time in power, in the 1990s. by the women’s families.
Initially, Taliban officials One woman from a central
spoke of allowing women province of Afghanistan
to continue to work and told Amnesty that she was
girls to continue their edu- compelled her to marry off
cation. Afghan women wait to receive cash at a money distribution point organized by the World Food her 13-year-old daughter
Program, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Nov. 20, 2021.
Instead, they formed an all- Associated Press to a 30-year-old neighbor
male government stacked in exchange for 60,000 Af-
with veterans of their hard- documented the torture ited Afghanistan in March ty that guards beat her ghanis (around US$670).
line rule that has banned and abuse of women ar- as part of a nine-month- and other women on the She said she felt relieved
girls from attending school rested by the Taliban for long investigation con- breasts and between the because her daughter
from seventh grade, im- protesting against restric- ducted from September legs, “so that we couldn’t “won’t be hungry any-
posed all-covering dress tions. 2021 to June 2022. They in- show the world.” She said more.”
that leaves only the eyes “Taken together, these terviewed 90 women and one told her, “I can kill She said she was also con-
visible and restricted wom- policies form a system of re- 11 girls, between 14 and 74 you right now, and no one sidering the same for her
en’s access to work. pression that discriminates years-old, across Afghani- would say anything.” 10-year-old daughter but
Amnesty said the Taliban against women and girls in stan. A university student who was holding off in hopes
have also decimated pro- almost every aspect of their Among them were wom- was detained said she was the girl could get an edu-
tections for those facing lives,” the report said. “This en detained for protest- electrically shocked on her cation and eventually se-
domestic violence, de- suffocating crackdown ing who described torture shoulder, face, neck and cure a job to support the
tained women and girls for against Afghanistan’s fe- at the hands of Taliban elsewhere, while the Tal- family. “Of course, if they
minor violations and con- male population is increas- guards, including beatings iban shouted insults at her. don’t open the school, I will
tributed to a surge in child ing day by day.” and threats of death. One held a gun at her and have to marry her off,” she
marriages. The report also The group’s researchers vis- One woman told Amnes- told her, “I will kill you, and added.q

U.N. experts urge Hong Kong authorities to repeal security law

and criticism over China’s tee, part of a regular review prevails over local legisla-
tightening grip on the semi- of parties to the covenant, tion and laws applicable in
autonomous region. expose again the com- Hong Kong, including the
The U.N.-backed Human plexities of Beijing’s control National Security Law, and
Rights Committee added of Hong Kong for the last bring these laws and prac-
its voice to independent 25 years. The findings were tices in full conformity with
advocacy groups that published Wednesday af- the Covenant,” the experts
have said the National ter a string of hearings in- wrote.
Security Law was passed cluding Hong Kong authori- Addressing Hong Kong and
by the National People’s ties earlier this month. not China, which has not
Congress in Beijing without The Chinese region of Ma- ratified the covenant com-
adequately consulting the cao, Georgia, Ireland, mittee vice chair Christo-
people of Hong Kong. Luxembourg and Uruguay pher Arif Bulkan told report-
Since its passage in 2020, were also examined. ers: “The committee urged
the law has reportedly been Hong Kong acceded to Hong Kong to take action
Photini Pazartzis, Chairperson of the Committee, OHCHR, applied in connection with the covenant after Britain, to repeal the national se-
speaks about the Human Rights Committee presents findings the arrests of more than 200 the region’s former colonial curity law and in the interim
on the political and civil rights in Hong Kong, Macao, Georgia, people, the experts say. ruler, ratified it in 1976. Af- refrain from applying it.”
Ireland, Luxembourg and Uruguay, during a press conference The committee aims to en- ter the handover of Hong Bulkan cited the “unique”
at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. sure that signatories of the Kong to China in 1997, Chi- context in which a coun-
Associated Press International Covenant on nese authorities told the try like China was in es-
Civil and Political Rights up- U.N. chief that the cove- sence inheriting a commit-
By JAMEY KEATEN tions called Wednesday on hold their commitments to nant would continue to ap- ment to the covenant that
GENEVA (AP) — Indepen- authorities in Hong Kong to respecting people’s rights ply to the region. was made before it took
dent human rights experts repeal a national security and freedoms. “Hong Kong, China should control of Hong Kong and
backed by the United Na- law that squelched protests The findings by the commit- ensure that the covenant Macao.q