Taliban remove human rights, women’s directorate from foreign ministry: Report

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have eliminated a key directorate focused on human rights and women’s international affairs from the foreign ministry, according to Afghan media.

In a letter on Monday, Lotfullah Khpalwak, head of personnel affairs at the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry, informed the ministry’s finance and administrative department that the position had been removed from the government’s organizational structure for the 1405 Solar Hijri year, which runs from March 21, 2026, to March 21, 2027, Afghanistan International reported.

The decision was made on the order of the Taliban prime minister, the letter said.

The move is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Taliban since they returned to power in 2021 to dismantle institutions with women’s rights and participation in public life.

One of the most prominent earlier changes was the dissolution of the former Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which was replaced by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a body tasked with enforcing the group’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, the news website reported.

There was no immediate public comment from Taliban officials on the latest move.

Since regaining control of the country, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls. Women have been barred from working in many government offices and non-governmental organizations, while girls are prohibited from attending school beyond the sixth grade and denied access to universities.

These policies have effectively pushed women out of much of public life and have drawn widespread condemnation from the international community, including governments, human rights groups and United Nations agencies.

The Taliban have repeatedly said their policies are in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghanistan’s cultural values, despite mounting external pressure to reverse course.