The UN Under-Secretary-General for Afghanistan (UNAMA) has met with some women rights activists in Kabul and said human rights should not be restricted in the country.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) meanwhile says they are committed to ensuring the rights of all people.

“The Taliban (IEA) have a responsibility to ensure that Afghanistan is a country where human rights are guaranteed equally to all,” said Mette Knudsen, UNAMA Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.

Hada Khamosh, a women’s rights activist, said that during the meeting, they shared their concerns about restrictions on women, the media and freedom of expression, and the alleged “killing of former Afghan security forces” by IEA forces.

Following their takeover of Kabul, the IEA pledged to respect the rights of women and girls in accordance with Islamic law and announced a “general amnesty” for all former government employees.

But human rights activists fear that women and girls may be barred from work and education, as in the previous IEA regime.

Meanwhile, IEA’s Deputy Spokesman Inamullah Samangani told reporters on Tuesday that they were committed to providing employment and training for both men and women.

Samangani added that the group’s government was working to create “conditions” for education and employment for all Afghans, including women.

Samangani said that the IEA’s government is working to create “education and training conditions” for all Afghans, including women.
The IEA reopened boys’ schools on September 17, but did not allow girls in grades six and up to attend.

However, the IEA has insisted that before the girls return, they are preparing instructions to create a “safe learning environment” for them, according to Islamic law.

Under the IEA from 1996 to 2001, women were largely denied the right to work and study and were usually forced to cover their faces and accompany a Muharram when leaving home.

Earlier, the United Nations expressed concern about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, and UN officials said that if the achievements of the past two decades were to be preserved in the country, the human rights and dignity of all Afghans must be upheld for women and girls, be protected and respected.