Meryl Streep Sheds Light on Dire State of Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep condemned the severe restrictions on women's freedoms in Afghanistan at a UN General Assembly event, emphasizing that animals have more rights than women under Taliban rule.

Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep shed light on the dire conditions faced by women in Afghanistan during a discussion held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to The Washington Post, Streep provocatively stated that "a squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today."

Streep illustrated her point by stating that in Kabul, a female cat enjoys more freedoms than a woman, being able to sit on her front stoop and feel the sun, or chase a squirrel into the park. "The public parks have been closed to women and girls," she lamented.

The Taliban, which regained control of Afghanistan after the US withdrawal in August 2021, imposed severe restrictions on women's rights, including a ban on education for girls above the sixth grade. These regulations, initially portrayed as temporary, are now strictly enforced in urban areas. Streep remarked, "A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not, and a woman may not in public."

Streep called on the international community to unite and effect change, halting the slow suffocation of half the Afghan population. Despite the Taliban's defense that their laws aim to safeguard women, the regime has also tightened control over men through inspections by morality police for non-compliance like not growing beards.

Historically, Afghanistan was progressive in women's rights; women gained the right to vote in 1919, a year ahead of the United States, and the first schools for girls opened in 1921. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)