I’m taking motion at this time to impose further visa restrictions on sure present or former Taliban members, members of non-state safety teams, and different people believed to be answerable for, or complicit in, repressing ladies and women in Afghanistan by way of restrictive insurance policies and violence, together with the Taliban’s determination to ban ladies from universities and from working with NGOs. The speedy members of the family of such individuals can also be topic to those visa restrictions, enacted below Part 212(a)(3)(C) (“3C”) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The Taliban’s most up-to-date edicts ban ladies from universities and from working with NGOs, and additional the Taliban’s earlier measures that closed secondary colleges to women and restrict the flexibility of ladies and women to take part within the Afghan society and financial system. By means of these selections, the Taliban have once more proven their disregard for the welfare of the Afghan individuals.
To this point, the Taliban’s actions have compelled over a million school-aged Afghan women and younger ladies out of the classroom, with extra ladies out of universities and numerous Afghan ladies out of the workforce. These numbers will solely develop as time goes on, worsening the nation’s already dire financial and humanitarian crises. Ladies’s and women’ high quality, secure, and inclusive training and workforce participation is crucial to rising and strengthening economies, lowering inequality, and fostering stability. Equal entry to training and work can also be an integral part to the vitality and resiliency of complete populations, together with all adults and youngsters, no matter gender. The Taliban can not count on the respect and assist of the worldwide group till they respect the human rights and elementary freedoms of all Afghans, together with ladies and women.
We proceed to coordinate intently with allies and companions around the globe on an strategy that makes clear to the Taliban that their actions will carry vital prices and shut the trail to improved relations with the worldwide group.
We condemn within the strongest of phrases the Taliban’s actions. The US stands with the Afghan individuals and stays dedicated to doing all we are able to to advertise and advance respect for the human rights and elementary freedoms of all Afghans, together with ladies and women.
