US imposes more sanctions on Taliban over its treatment of Afghan women

The US handed down more sanctions on the Taliban as punishment for its treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan. The announcement was made on the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child on Tuesday, October 11th.

According to The Straits Times, a new visa restriction policy for current or former members of the Taliban and others involved in repressing women’s rights through policies and violence was among the sanctions.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are systemically barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade, with no return date in sight.

Such sanctions come after a recent suicide bombing on a Kabul classroom that the UN says killed 53 people, including 46 girls and young women.

The education center was in a neighbourhood made up of mostly Hazaras, a persecuted ethnic and religious minority group. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, while Afghanistan has a Sunni majority. 

The bomber allegedly blew up himself next to women at a gender-segregated study hall that was packed with hundreds of students taking university admissions practice exams.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken unveiled the new visa restriction policy for current or former members of the Taliban and others involved in repressing women through restrictive policies and violence.

The Taliban returned to power back in August 2021 after the retreat of US forces from Afghanistan. Splinter groups such as ISIS-K have also wreaked havoc on the country since the US left.

Since it took over, the Taliban regime banned girls from attending secondary school but allowed women to attend university.