Sydney (Australia), December 6 (AFFE). – The Australian government announced today, Saturday, the imposition of financial sanctions and a travel ban on three ministers in the Taliban government and another senior official due to the deteriorating human rights conditions in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement: “The Australian government remains deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban continues to demonstrate its disregard for the rights, freedoms and well-being of the Afghan people, especially women and girls.”
Those punished are Minister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Muhammad Khaled Hanafi; Minister of Higher Education Nada Mohamed Nadeem; Minister of Justice Abdelhakim Shari’i; Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
Wong notes that the four Taliban government officials are accused of participating “in the persecution of women and girls and undermining good governance. This includes restricting access to education, employment, freedom of movement and the ability to participate in public life” for women.
Australia, which withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2021, is the non-NATO country that sent the largest number of soldiers during the war against the Taliban and to train Afghan security forces, deploying 39,000 military personnel between 2001 and 2021.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have been criticized for restricting the rights and freedoms of women and girls; While they say they respect their rights according to their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs. Evie