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	Gender and income inequalities driving teenage motherhood in developing countries by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)   July 2022   Almost one third of women in developing countries had their first baby while they were still in their teens, a recently released report shows, with nearly half of those new mothers aged 17 and younger – still children themselves.   Gender-based and income inequalities are highlighted as key in fuelling teen pregnancies by increasing child marriage rates, keeping girls out of school, restricting their career aspirations, and limiting health care and information on safe, consensual sex.   Entrenching these inequalities are climate disasters, COVID-19 and conflict, which are all upending lives around the world, obliterating livelihoods and making it more difficult for girls to afford or even physically reach school and health services. This leaves tens of millions yet more vulnerable to child marriage and early pregnancy.   “When nearly a third of all women in developing countries are becoming mothers during adolescence, it is clear the world is failing adolescent girls,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “The repeat pregnancies we see among adolescent mothers are a glaring signpost that they desperately need sexual and reproductive health information and services.”   Adolescent motherhood doesn’t imply unintended pregnancies   Most births among girls under the age of 18 in 54 developing countries are reported as taking place within a marriage or union. Although more than half of those pregnancies were classified as “intended”, young girls’ ability to decide whether to have children can be severely constrained.   Indeed, the report finds that adolescent pregnancy is often – albeit not always – driven by a lack of meaningful choice, limited agency, and even force or coercion.   Even in contexts where adolescent motherhood is considered acceptable and planned for, it can carry serious and long-term repercussions, especially when health-care systems fail to ensure accessible sexual and reproductive care and information for this vulnerable age group.   Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 years, who are also far more likely to suffer a litany of other violations of their human rights, from forced marriage and intimate partner violence to serious mental health impacts of bearing children before they are out of childhood themselves.   Girls who give birth in adolescence also often go on to have more than one baby in quick succession – which can be dangerous both physically and psychologically. Among those who first gave birth at age 14 or younger, nearly three quarters had a second baby before they turned 20, and a staggering 40 per cent of those had a third before they left their teens.   What’s keeping rates of child motherhood so high?   Adolescent births now account for 16 per cent of all births in the world, and the report shows women who began childbearing in adolescence had almost five births by the time they reached age 40. With inequalities and humanitarian crises multiplying and intensifying, we know women and girls are bearing an unequal burden of the consequent physical, psychological and economic turmoil.   In conflict as in climate disasters, schools and health facilities are frequently reduced to rubble and devoid of staff and equipment. Insecurity and violence render it impossible for people to move around even for basic necessities, including contraception and other critical sexual and reproductive health care.   Crises and displacement are also known to lead to spikes in gender-based and sexual violence, in turn causing more sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies from rape, and rising rates of forced and child marriages as parents struggle to cope with financial hardship and aching hunger.   Under these circumstances, access to employment, education and health services is disrupted or suspended entirely, pushing girls out of school, women out of the workforce and leading child marriages and unintended pregnancies to soar.   And yet these trends are not new: Research shows that despite some progress, over the last 60 years the proportion of first-time births among girls aged 17 and younger has only fallen from 60 to 45 per cent – a drop of some 2 percentage points every 10 years.   Raise up girls’ value by investing in their futures   The report calls for strengthened support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive care as well as commitment to girls’ educational and employment potential. This is particularly urgent for those in vulnerable and lower-income contexts, where the numbers of adolescent mothers are highest.   “Governments need to invest in adolescent girls and expand their opportunities, resources, and skillsets, thereby helping avoid early and unintended pregnancies,” Dr. Kanem added. “When girls can meaningfully chart their own life course, motherhood in childhood will grow increasingly rare.”   Initiatives to keep girls in school, alongside comprehensive sexuality education and life skills training, have proved effective in empowering them to make their own choices. This will help them to forge a path out of poverty and towards a brighter future, one in which they will choose to enter motherhood only when they decide they are ready, able and willing to do so.   http://www.unfpa.org/news/gender-and-income-inequalities-driving-teenage-motherhood-developing-countries-new-report http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1121972   Apr. 2022   The neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy is the subject of UNFPA’s flagship 2022 State of World Population report, released today. Titled “Seeing the Unseen,” the report examines how such pregnancies represent a global failure to uphold basic human rights. On average, 121 million unintended pregnancies occur every year – 331,000 per day – and the number is expected to rise with population growth if we don’t take decisive action.   The ability to decide whether to have children, how many and with whom, is fundamental to the reproductive rights of girls and women. When this right is ignored or compromised – by social constraints or abuse, lack of health services or the low priority in general placed on the female half of humanity – the consequences snowball.   Unintended pregnancy impacts individual lives and whole societies, impeding progress in health, education and gender equality, increasing poverty and lack of opportunity and costing billions in resources.   More than three in five unintended pregnancies end in abortion. An estimated 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, carried out in countries where the procedure is illegal, restricted or unaffordable in safe settings. Unsafe abortion hospitalizes around 7 million women a year globally and is a leading cause of maternal death.   A world where every pregnancy is wanted is a UNFPA core goal. Below are seven myths about unintended pregnancy that contribute to the shame, stigma and misunderstandings that must be overcome to end this crisis.   Myth 1: Only promiscuous women and reckless teenagers have unintended pregnancies.   Any fertile woman, regardless of age, marital status or background, can get pregnant unexpectedly, as can people who do not identify as women. Blaming the high rate on particular gender stereotypes is widely off the mark.   For instance, while modern contraceptives are increasingly available, no method is 100 per cent failsafe. Planned sexual abstinence can also fail, including due to coercion or violence. Other factors that undermine the ability of women and girls to exercise reproductive choice and bodily autonomy include gender inequality, poverty, shame, fear and gender-based violence. Men play a key role: worldwide, almost one quarter of women are unable to refuse sex. Rape causes unintended pregnancy at rates equal to, or greater than, consensual sex. Young or old, married or single, sexually active or not – all women are vulnerable if they are able to get pregnant.   Myth 2: Women don’t use contraceptives because they don’t know about or can’t get them.   Globally, around 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe, modern methods of contraception. Of these women, 172 million use no method at all. Lack of awareness about, or access to, contraception is now one of the least commonly cited reasons for non-use. The biggest reasons are concerns about side effects, having infrequent or no sex, and opposition to condoms and other methods. Misinformation about long-term effects on fertility add to fears about contraception.   To respond to the crisis of unintended pregnancy, UNFPA has emphasized contraception access, providing 724 million male condoms, 80 million cycles of oral contraceptives and tens of millions of other forms of contraceptives in 2020 alone. Provision is critically important, but more broadly addressing personal and social barriers to contraceptive use is, too.   Myth 3: Legal, available access to abortion encourages women to have unprotected sex.   Actually, rates of unintended pregnancy tend to be lower in countries with more liberal abortion laws, where access to safe abortion is available on request or in most circumstances. In countries where abortion is restricted or banned, more women get pregnant unexpectedly.   The reasons? The relationship between unintended pregnancy, safe abortion access and levels of social and economic development. Liberal abortion laws likely have no bearing on the rate of unintended pregnancy. Rather, such laws tend to exist where the rights of women and girls are respected and broader sexual and reproductive health services for sexually active people exist.   In short, when women have access to proper health services and the ability to exercise their rights to reproductive choice and bodily autonomy, rates of unintended pregnancy fall regardless of abortion laws.   Myth 4: Unintended pregnancy is always entirely a person’s fault.   While unintended pregnancy at the individual level is an obvious result of unprotected sex, the wider causes have societal roots. Research shows that rates of unintended pregnancy vary greatly between countries and reflect levels of overall development. Social and economic conditions such as income, education, gender equality and availability of health services play a large role in determining whether women are more likely to get pregnant unexpectedly. Framing the issue as one of personal responsibility ignores these crucial factors.   Ultimately, the story of unintended pregnancy reflects the value the world places – or doesn’t – on women and girls. When societies restrict women’s reproductive agency, motherhood can become the default rather than a considered decision and desire. By contrast, when societies empower women to make their own choices, they recognize women’s inherent value. Countries with higher levels of informed choice reduce both unintended pregnancies and their far-reaching negative consequences.   Myth 5: Married women don’t have to worry about unintended pregnancies.   Married women and girls are often ignored in these discussions simply because of the assumption that marriage = having a child. In fact, married women are just as susceptible to unintended pregnancy as other women, in some cases more so.   Along with the usual risk of contraceptive failure, there are vital questions of power and agency inside marriage: Adolescent girls may be forced into early marriage by their families to avoid the dishonour and stigma of unwed pregnancy. Girls in child marriages with much older men tend to have little education and power, and many are unable to exercise any reproductive choice. In situations of domestic abuse, women are 53 per cent less likely to use contraception, and twice as likely to report an unintended pregnancy.   Myth 6: Unintended pregnancies are unwanted pregnancies.   Despite more than 60 per cent of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion, not all are unwanted. Some are “happy accidents” that women keep. A large survey in France found that women were more likely to say a pregnancy was unplanned than they were to say it was unwanted. Women’s attitudes towards pregnancy can shift over time. Some are unsure whether to have children or add to their families. Others are sure they do but are less certain about their current and future circumstances. Some change their minds before – and even during – a pregnancy. But others may be resigned to the fact that pregnancy is expected of them, understanding the choice is not entirely theirs if at all. More research, and better definitions, are needed to disentangle these situations and to better provide opportunities for women to exercise real, informed choice over their bodies and futures.   Myth 7: Unintended pregnancy is not a real crisis.   The high rate of unintended pregnancy has devastating global consequences that affect almost every aspect of human development. In a world already facing such major challenges as climate change, conflict, natural disaster and mass migration, unintended pregnancy and its related harms represent a monumental waste, from billions of dollars in health-care costs to lower levels of social progress, to persistently high levels of unsafe abortion and resulting maternal deaths, to increased poverty and hunger.   Most of all, the crisis represents a squandering of the potential of women and girls. The inability to exercise control over their reproductive health traps millions in a cycle of hardship and missed opportunity that ripples through generations. Empowering women to make conscious and deliberate choices about their pregnancies is essential for advancements in education, health and gender equality on which the hopes of the world rest.   http://www.unfpa.org/news/7-myths-about-unintended-pregnancy-debunked http://www.unfpa.org/swp2022 http://www.unfpa.org/news http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1115062 http://www.who.int/news/item/24-03-2022-first-ever-country-level-estimates-of-unintended-pregnancy-and-abortion http://www.passblue.com/2024/01/15/ugandas-staggering-rate-of-teen-motherhood-can-shatter-life-dreams/ Visit the related web page
	The deterioration in the situation of Afghan women and girls by UN News, OHCHR, UNICEF, agencies Afghanistan   Aug. 2022   A continuous deterioration in the situation of Afghan women and girls, by Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women   In the year that has passed since the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan we have seen daily and continuous deterioration in the situation of Afghan women and girls. This has spanned every aspect of their human rights, from living standards to social and political status. It has been a year of increasing disrespect for their right to live free and equal lives, denying them opportunity to livelihoods, access to health care and education, and escape from situations of violence.   The Taliban’s meticulously constructed policies of inequality set Afghanistan apart. It is the only country in the world where girls are banned from going to high school. There are no women in the Taliban’s cabinet, no Ministry of Women’s Affairs, thereby effectively removing women’s right to political participation.   Women are, for the most part, also restricted from working outside the home, and are required to cover their faces in public and to have a male chaperone when they travel. Furthermore, they continue to be subjected to multiple forms of Gender Based Violence.   This deliberate slew of measures of discrimination against Afghanistan’s women and girls is also a terrible act of self-sabotage for a country experiencing huge challenges including from climate-related and natural disasters to exposure to global economic headwinds that leave some 25 million Afghan people in poverty and many hungry. The exclusion of women from all aspects of life robs the people of Afghanistan of half their talent and energies. It prevents women from leading efforts to build resilient communities and shrinks Afghanistan’s ability to recover from crisis.   There is a clear lesson from humanity’s all too extensive experience of crisis. Without the full participation of women and girls in all aspects of public life there is little chance of achieving lasting peace, stability and economic development.   That is why we urge the de facto authorities to open schools for all girls, to remove constraints on women’s employment and their participation in the politics of their nation, and to revoke all decisions and policies that strip women of their rights. We call for ending all forms of violence against women and girls.   We urge the de facto authorities to ensure that women journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society actors enjoy freedom of expression, have access to information and can work freely and independently, without fear of reprisal or attack.   The international community’s support for women’s rights and its investment in women themselves are more important than ever: in services for women, in jobs and women-led businesses, and in women leaders and women’s organizations. This includes not only support to the provision of humanitarian assistance but also continued and unceasing efforts at the political level to bring about change.   UN Women has remained in country throughout this crisis and will continue to do so. We are steadfast in our support to Afghan women and girls alongside our partners and donors. We are scaling up the provision of life-saving services for women, by women, to meet overwhelming needs. We are supporting women-led businesses and employment opportunities across all sectors to help lift the country out of poverty. We are also investing in women-led civil society organizations to support the rebuilding of the women’s movement. As everywhere in the world, civil society is a key driver of progress and accountability on women’s rights and gender equality.   Every day, we advocate for restoring, protecting, and promoting the full spectrum of women’s and girls’ rights. We are also creating spaces for Afghan women themselves to advocate for their right to live free and equal lives.   One year on, with women’s visibility so diminished and rights so severely impacted, it is vital to direct targeted, substantial, and systematic funding to address and reverse this situation and to facilitate women’s meaningful participation in all stakeholder engagement on Afghanistan, including in delegations that meet with Taliban officials.   Decades of progress on gender equality and women’s rights have been wiped out in mere months. We must continue to act together, united in our insistence on guarantees of respect for the full spectrum of women’s rights, including to education, work, and participation in public and political life.   We must continue to make a collective and continuous call on the Taliban leadership to fully comply with the binding obligations under international treaties to which Afghanistan is a party. And we must continue to elevate the voices of Afghan women and girls who are fighting every day for their right to live free and equal lives. Their fight is our fight. What happens to women and girls in Afghanistan is our global responsibility.   http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/statement/2022/08/statement-meticulously-constructed-policies-of-inequality-afghanistan-one-year-on http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/08/in-focus-women-in-afghanistan-one-year-after-the-taliban-takeover http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/depriving-girls-secondary-education-translates-loss-least-us500-million-afghan   7 May 2022   UNAMA is deeply concerned with today’s announcement by the Taliban de facto authorities that all women must cover their faces in public, that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity, and that violations of this directive will lead to the punishment of their male relatives.   Information that UNAMA has received suggests this is a formal directive rather than a recommendation, and that it will be implemented and enforced.   This decision contradicts numerous assurances regarding respect for and protection of all Afghans’ human rights, including those of women and girls, that had been provided to the international community by Taliban representatives during discussions and negotiations over the past decade. These assurances were repeated following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, that women would be afforded their rights, whether in work, education, or society at large.   The international community has been eager for signals that the Taliban are ready for positive relations with the wider world. The decision six weeks ago to postpone secondary schooling for Afghan girls was widely condemned internationally, regionally, and locally. Today’s decision by the Taliban might further strain engagement with the international community.   http://unama.unmissions.org/unama-statement-hijab-directive-taliban-authorities http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/statement/2022/05/statement-on-afghanistan-by-ms-sima-bahous-un-women-executive-director http://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/taliban-order-all-afghan-women-to-wear-burqa   23 Mar. 2022   Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.   “The de facto authorities’ failure to adhere to commitments to reopen schools for girls above the sixth grade – in spite of repeated commitments towards girls’ education, including during my visit to Kabul two weeks ago – is deeply damaging for Afghanistan”, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.   Although high schools were set to open their doors to girls nationwide, Taliban authorities reportedly reversed the move early on Wednesday, pending a ruling made on the uniforms they must wear.   “The denial of education violates the human rights of women and girls – beyond their equal right to education, it leaves them more exposed to violence, poverty and exploitation,” Ms. Bachelet explained.   The UN Secretary-General said in a statement later in the day, that he deeply regretted the Taliban's suspension of the return to school for high school girls.   "The start of the new school year has been anticipated by all students, girls and boys, and parents and families", said António Guterres. He added that the Taliban move "despite repeated commitments, is a profound disappointment and deeply damaging for Afghanistan.   The denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women and girls to education, it also jeopardizes the country’s future in view of the tremendous contributions by Afghan women and girls.  "I urge the Taliban de facto authorities to open schools for all students without any further delay."   Ms. Bachelet recalled her recent visit to Kabul, where women stressed to her that they wanted to speak to the Taliban themselves.   The women told her that they have “information, solutions and the capability to help chart a way out of this economic, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan.”   “They insisted upon the equal right to quality education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels and were hopefully awaiting the reopening of schools today”.   “Disempowering half of Afghanistan’s population is counterproductive and unjust,” Ms. Bachelet said, adding that “structural discrimination such as this is also deeply damaging for the country’s prospects of future recovery and development.”   She called on the Taliban to “respect all girls’ rights to education and to open schools for all students without discrimination or further delay”.   The Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund, Catherine Russell, also issued a statement describing the decision as “a major setback for girls and their futures”.   “Millions of secondary-school girls around Afghanistan woke up hopeful today that they will be able to go back to school and resume their learning,” she said. “It did not take long for their hopes to be shattered.”   According to Ms. Russell the decision meant that an entire generation of adolescent girls is being “denied their right to an education and…robbed of the opportunity to gain the skills they need to build their futures.”   She urged the de facto authorities to honour their commitment to girls’ education without any further delay and appealed to community leaders in every corner of the country to support the education of adolescent girls.   “All children deserve to be in school. This is the surest way to put the country on a surer path toward the peace and prosperity that the people of Afghanistan deserve,” said the UNICEF chief.   The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) responded to the news, by stating that it “deplores today’s reported announcement by the Taliban that they are further extending their indefinite ban on female students above the 6th grade being permitted to return school.”   The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in a statement said today’s decision "casts a dark shadow" on the school year in Afghanistan. NRC’s Secretary General Jan Egeland said: “We hope the deeply concerning announcement by the Ministry of Education will be reversed. We expect the Taliban government to allow all girls and boys across the whole country to resume their complete education cycle, in line with earlier public assurances they have given. Limiting girls’ schooling to primary education will devastate their future and the future of Afghanistan.”   Amnesty International said that it is deeply concerned about the new development. “The right to education is a fundamental human right, which the Taliban – as the de facto authorities – are duty-bound to uphold. The policies currently pursued by the Taliban are discriminatory, unjust and violate international law,” it said. Human Rights Watch has also raised its concerns about the girls beyond grade six being prevented from entering their schools.   Mar. 2022   Afghanistan is running out of food, an upcoming pledging conference is a rare chance to save millions of lives in the country, writes Mary Ellen McGroarty country director for Afghanistan at the UN World Food Programme.   Last week, the women and girls of Afghanistan were dealt another low blow when their hopes to return to secondary school were dashed. Seven months after the withdrawal of foreign forces, collapse of the government, takeover by the Taliban and economic paralysis, their one hope remaining has been ruined.   More than half of the 23 million people in Afghanistan suffering acute food insecurity are women and girls. They are suffering the immeasurable and inhumane physical and mental burden of hunger and discrimination. Adolescent girls are locked out of school, women are unable to work. They rightly wonder if they are being punished even though they have had so little say in their fate.   In advance of the UN pledging conference on Afghanistan, to be held on March 31, I urge the international community to reassure the women and girls of Afghanistan that they have not been left to fend for themselves. Support the UN to alleviate the dreadful suffering of hunger with levels of resources commensurate to the needs. Support us to keep women and girls’ dreams and voices alive. Support us by boosting livelihoods and resilience programmes, nutrition, education and school meals; programmes shaped in and owned by the communities for their communities.   These are programmes that bring hope and potential and with this the possibility of a pathway to stability and prosperity, a peace dividend for Afghanistan and all its people equally.   Since August 2021, we have witnessed a crisis of unprecedented scale and depth engulf Afghanistan and its people. Widespread hunger has gripped the country with equal severity in rural and urban areas. Mothers across the country are witnessing their young children fall ill to malnutrition.   I met many of these mothers sitting at the edge of an overcrowded bed in overcrowded hospital wards praying that their children would pull through. They are mothers struggling to understand how peace after so many decades of war could be like this. In February, almost 400,000 children under the age of five have been treated for malnutrition, up from 150,000 in January. I've met many mothers in overcrowded hospital wards praying that their children would pull through.   Afghanistan is, sadly, home to the highest percentage of widows in the world. It is estimated that there are over 700,000 of them, according to the Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey published by the country’s previous government. Women, young and old, struggle to raise a family alone – the price of war, the price of inhumanity. Many young, educated women are the only bread winners in their households.   These women, mothers and daughters – often the heads of their households – are impacted most by the nexus of economic shocks, drought and ideological barbarity. The UN World Food Programme’s most recent rapid food security assessment found that female-headed households are struggling the most. Many of these households (85 per cent) are resorting to drastic measures to feed their families, compared to 62 per cent for male-headed households. With each passing month of the crisis, incomes continue to drop, diet quality decreases and the amount of food consumed at household level reduces.   Nowruz, the new solar year and the first day of spring, was celebrated on March 21. With spring comes new life and crop seeds bursting through the earth, growing and maturing before the harvest, which is expected in June and July. The harvest is still three months way, and it will bring some relief for those fortunate enough to have access to seeds. But much of it is already mortgaged, as households borrow against it to feed their families. The humanitarian crisis is not over, as there has been no let-up on the economic crisis.   Yes, the discussions and debates on Afghanistan are complex and challenging, no more so than after the events of recent days. We must and will continue to advocate and challenge for the rights of women and girls. The young girls turned away from school last week and the rest of the children of Afghanistan must be allowed to flourish and grow for sake of the country. The international community cannot and must not reduce its support to the people of Afghanistan.   The WFP continues to scale up its programmes across country. The world must help us push back the scourge of hunger and malnutrition to save lives. It must help us continue with critical resilience and school meals programmes to change lives for the wellbeing and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan.   “You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise”. I hope the words of the wonderful woman and poet Maya Angelou might yet prove true for the women and girls of Afghanistan.   http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-education-girls-and-why-wfps-work-afghanistan-critical http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114482 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/girls-afghanistan-must-go-back-school-without-any-further-delays http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/03/failure-adhere-commitments-re-open-schools-all-girls-deeply-disappointing-and http://malala.org/newsroom/archive/malala-fund-condemns-talibans-decision-to-keep-afghan-girls-schools-closed http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/22/afghanistan-reopening-girls-schools-needs-watching http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2022/04/20/afghanistans-empty-womens-shelters   Jan. 2022   Afghanistan: Taliban attempting to steadily erase women and girls from public life. (OHCHR)   Taliban leaders in Afghanistan are institutionalizing large scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls, a group of UN human rights experts said today.   The experts reiterated their alarm expressed since August 2021 at a series of restrictive measures that have been introduced since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, particularly those concerning women and girls. “Taken together, these policies constitute a collective punishment of women and girls, grounded on gender-based bias and harmful practices,” the experts said.   “We are concerned about the continuous and systematic efforts to exclude women from the social, economic, and political spheres across the country.” These concerns are exacerbated in the cases of women from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities such as the Hazara, Tajik, Hindu and other communities whose differences or visibility make them even more vulnerable in Afghanistan, they added.   The experts also noted the increased risk of exploitation of women and girls including of trafficking for the purposes of child and forced marriage as well as sexual exploitation and forced labor.   These exclusionary and discriminatory policies are being enforced through a wave of measures such as barring women from returning to their jobs, requiring a male relative to accompany them in public spaces, prohibiting women from using public transport on their own, as well as imposing a strict dress code on women and girls.   “In addition to severely limiting their freedom of movement, expression and association, and their participation in public and political affairs, these policies have also affected the ability of women to work and to make a living, pushing them further into poverty,” the experts said. “Women heads of households are especially hard hit, with their suffering compounded by the devastating consequences of the humanitarian crisis in the country.”   Of particular and grave concern is the continued denial of the fundamental right of women and girls to secondary and tertiary education, on the premise that women and men have to be segregated and that female students abide by a specific dress code.   As such, the vast majority of girls’ secondary schools remain closed and the majority of girls who should be attending grades 7-12 are being denied access to school, based solely on their gender.   “Today, we are witnessing the attempt to steadily erase women and girls from public life in Afghanistan including in institutions and mechanisms that had been previously set up to assist and protect those women and girls who are most at risk,” the experts said in reference to the closure of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the physical occupation of the premises of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.   “Various vital, and sometimes lifesaving, service providers supporting survivors of gender-based violence have shut down for fear of retribution, as have many women’s shelters, with potentially fatal consequences for the many victims in need of such services.”   Other efforts aimed at dismantling systems designed to prevent and respond to gender-based violence have included discontinuing specialized courts and prosecution units responsible for enforcing the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and preventing many women aid and social workers from being able to fully perform their jobs and assist other women and girls.   While these measures have affected women and girls of all spheres of life, the experts highlighted their particular concerns for women human rights defenders, women civil society activists and leaders, women judges and prosecutors, women in the security forces, women that were former government employees, and women journalists, all of whom have been considerably exposed to harassment, threats of violence and sometimes violence, and for whom civic space had been severely eroded. Many have been forced to leave the country as a result.   “We are also deeply troubled by the harsh manner with which the de facto authorities have responded to Afghan women and girls claiming their fundamental rights, with reports of peaceful protesters having been often beaten, ill-treated, threatened, and in confirmed instances detained arbitrarily,” the experts said.   “We are also extremely disturbed by the reports of extrajudicial killings and forced displacement of ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Hazara, which would suggest deliberate efforts to target, ban, and even eliminate them from the country.”   The experts reiterated their call to the international community to step up urgently needed humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, and the realization of their right to recovery and development. The financial and humanitarian crisis has been particularly devastating for groups in situations of heightened vulnerability within the Afghan population, particularly women, children, minorities and female-headed households.   At the same time, the international community must continue to hold the de facto authorities accountable for continuous violations of the rights of half of the Afghan society and to ensure that restrictions on women and girl’s fundamental rights are immediately removed.   “Any humanitarian response, recovery or development efforts in the country are condemned to failure if female staff, women-led organizations, and women in general - particularly those from minority communities - continue to be excluded from full participation in the needs assessments as well as in the decision-making, design, implementation and monitoring of these interventions,” the experts said.   http://bit.ly/33pBK52 http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/01/1109902 http://www.passblue.com/2022/02/15/meanwhile-in-afghanistan-women-are-suffering-needlessly-this-winter/ Visit the related web page
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