During a United Nations event on Monday, Hollywood actress and activist Meryl Streep highlighted the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, stating that “cats have more freedom than women” in the country.
She said the Taliban’s harsh limitations on women’s rights, such as prohibiting most girls from attending high school and restricting women from working or visiting public parks.
“A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban,” she said.
“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not, and a woman may not in public,” she said, emphasizing the harsh conditions Afghan women have endured since the Taliban regained power in 2021.
She said that Afghan women are currently facing unprecedented challenges and cannot regain their basic rights without continuous global support.
At the event, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that Afghanistan cannot reclaim its position in the international community without women’s participation in education, employment, and leadership.
“Without educated women, without women in employment, and without recognizing the rights and freedoms of one-half of the population, Afghanistan will never take its rightful place on the global stage,” he said.
Mr Guterres added that the UN stands in solidarity with Afghan women and will not allow gender discrimination to become normalized anywhere in the world.
He warned that a world without educated and working women will face a dark future.
Former Afghanistan’s MP Fawzia Koofi also spoke at the event and criticized the international community for ignoring the people of Afghanistan in the peace process. She said that Afghan women have been sidelined in the peace negotiations, but they will continue their struggle for their rights.
She added that the current situation for women in Afghanistan, especially with the new Taliban law, is ‘painful and incomprehensible.’
Koofi said that Afghan women will prevail in their struggles despite the numerous challenges and repression they face.
The UN event takes place at a time when many women and girls in Afghanistan have lost their rights and freedoms due to Taliban restrictions, including bans on secondary education, employment, and freedom of movement.
