KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) 鈥� Taliban rulers and other officials gathered at Afghanistan鈥檚 traditional Loya Jirga assembly hall on Saturday to celebrate the , touting having brought stability and an end to conflict after decades of upheaval.
A top United Nations official, however, warned of a grave human rights crisis in the country where girls above the .
The , as the U.S. and other NATO troops withdrew following a costly two-decade war. The U.S. withdrawal led to chaos at Kabul airport as crowds of people tried to flee the country in desperation.
Soon after taking power, the Taliban administration imposed a ban on girls鈥� education beyond the sixth grade and later also banned higher education for women, despite having pledged before the takeover that women would be allowed access to education, employment and public participation.
Women have also been banned from public spaces such as gyms and parks, from taking part in sports and traveling to distant locations without a male guardian.
Taliban hails 鈥榣iberation鈥� from American forces
At the Loya Jirga, high-ranking officials were joined by some foreign representatives and thousands of ordinary citizens for speeches marking what they said was Afghanistan’s liberation from American forces.
鈥淲e pray to Almighty God to forever protect our homeland from occupation, aggression, wars, and insecurity, and to enable our people to enjoy peace, tranquility, and prosperity under the auspices of the Sharia-based government,鈥� the Taliban government鈥檚 deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said during the ceremony.
There were no women present.
Five years on, the Taliban government remains isolated internationally, with Russia being the only country to have recognized it formally.
Top Taliban official calls for more international engagement
Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that countries that have engaged with the administration have gained from doing so and called on others that have not established contacts to reconsider their approach.
鈥淭hose that engaged and interacted with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan benefited,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s for the countries that have not engaged with the Islamic Emirate, let them state what they have gained or what benefit they have derived.鈥�
鈥淭hey should move towards a policy of engagement and mutual interaction,鈥� he said.
Celebrations held under tight security
In Kabul, men took to the squares carrying Taliban flags and chanting slogans in support of the government. Convoys of vehicles wound their way through the city, causing traffic jams.
Security was tight, with heavy Taliban security force presence and several check points on a main road leading to the Loya Jirga.
were also held in provinces across Afghanistan, where Taliban flags and posters emblazoned with slogans in praise of the Taliban鈥檚 return to power were displayed along major roads and marketplaces.
In a video message, Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, said the country was undergoing .
UN says human rights situation has 鈥榙ramatically鈥� deteriorated
鈥淲hile the era of war has ended, it鈥檚 questionable whether there鈥檚 real peace, and the human rights situation has steadily deteriorated, most dramatically for women and girls,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淢y mandate has concluded that this system amounts to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.鈥�
鈥淭he crisis extends well beyond gender discrimination, even beyond gender apartheid,鈥� he continued. 鈥淎cross Afghanistan we continue to document arbitrary arrests, torture and ill treatment, extrajudicial killings, corporal punishment, enforced disappearances, restrictions on freedom of expression, attacks on journalists and human rights defenders, persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, discrimination against LGBT plus persons, and the reduction of civic space.鈥�
Bennett warned the international community against 鈥渘ormalizing鈥� the Taliban鈥檚 policies, saying it would legitimize the discrimination and tell 鈥渧ictims their suffering is negotiable.鈥�
In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this week, Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister in the Taliban government for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said despite 鈥渃hallenges and difficulties鈥� the administration has in the past five years delivered security, infrastructure and created jobs.
2.4 million girls excluded from secondary education
Farahi, when asked, did not address the issue of the education of girls and women but said 鈥渢he level of investment made in universities surpasses anything seen in the past.”
The U.N. agency on education and culture, UNESCO, estimates that some have been excluded from secondary education. The U.N. World Food Program said child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan鈥檚 provinces and is expected to worsen due to funding shortfalls.
The world body鈥檚 agency on women鈥檚 rights, U.N. Women, said this week that women and girls are facing the harshest restriction in the world and that the bans are damaging Afghanistan鈥檚 future, with the lack of teachers, doctors, nurses and midwives threatening the country鈥檚 social and economic foundations.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.
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