A number of human rights watchdogs in a statement expressed concerns over the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.  

However, the Islamic Emirate denied the claims in the statement and said that women are included in various areas where they are needed.  

The human rights watchdogs called on the US to ban the Islamic Emirate officials from traveling abroad.  

The human rights organizations published the report on the Islamic Emirate’s first anniversary of returning to power in Afghanistan.  

“The Biden Administration and US Congress must act now and put Afghan women and girls at the center of their diplomatic, development, and humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan. It is the US’s moral duty, as well as in the US national security interest, to counter the Taliban’s gender apartheid and advance security and prosperity in Afghanistan. One cannot be achieved without the other,” the report reads.  

However, some women’s rights activists said that until there are practical steps, there will be no changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate.  

“Undoubtedly, the reports and statements which are released by the human rights organizations about the Afghan women cannot help the situation in Afghanistan,” said Marriam Marouf, a women’s rights activist.  

“We call on the international community and the US, which has a vital role in human rights, to press them (Islamic Emirate) through talks and logic for the betterment of human rights,” said Sonia Nail, a university instructor.  

Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied the report's claims and said women are included in various areas. 

“The women are included in all areas where they are needed such as in sectors of health, higher education, secondary education, police, and national ID and passport services,” he said.  

The UN Security Council (UNSC) earlier gave leaders of the Islamic Emirate exemptions to travel bans to facilitate their negotiations with the US.