A female cat has more freedom in Afghanistan than a woman does, Hollywood actress Meryl Streep said at an UN event on Monday, making a plea to the international community to take action against the Taliban’s repression of women.
“Today, in Kabul, a female cat has more freedoms than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today, because the public parks have been closed to women and girls,” Streep said at the event raising awareness for Afghan women’s rights on the sidelines of General Assembly.
“A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not and a woman may not in public. This is extraordinary,” she added.
The 75-year-old warned that Afghanistan’s situation should serve as a cautionary tale for the world and urged global leaders to “stop the slow suffocation” of Afghan women.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces after two decades of conflict. Since then, the UN has called for a unified global strategy in dealing with the Taliban, who have significantly restricted women’s rights.
Streep’s comments follow the Taliban’s introduction of new “morality laws” last month. These laws include severe limitations on women’s presence in public, banning them from speaking publicly or making eye contact with men who are not close relatives. These add to a growing list of restrictions since the Taliban’s return to power three years ago. Afghan women are required to cover their entire faces and bodies when in public and are barred from attending schools, parks, gyms, and certain workplaces.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, also present at the event, echoed Streep’s concerns, stating that Afghanistan “will never take its rightful place on the global stage” without educated women actively participating in society.
In response to Streep’s remarks, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen rejected the comparison, saying, “We highly respect women in their roles as mothers, sisters, and wives, but we would never compare them to cats.” He added that many women currently work in government ministries and as entrepreneurs, BBC reported.
The Taliban has defended the restrictions, claiming they are in line with Islamic Sharia law and have promised reforms to the education system, though no progress has been seen so far.
Western nations, including the United States and European Union, have condemned the Taliban’s policies, but the regime remains steadfast in its defence of the new laws.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
