US actress Meryl Streep has expressed the view that even “a squirrel has more rights” than a girl in Afghanistan, joining her voice with that of women in Afghanistan calling on the Taliban government to lift the severe restrictions it has imposed on them.

Taliban authorities have implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law since returning to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.

Women and girls have borne the brunt of the restrictions – including being denied access to public parks, being barred from attending university and singing in public – what the United Nations has called “gender apartheid”.

“A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the Taliban have banned women and girls from public parks,” Meryl Streep commented yesterday during a discussion on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. .

“A bird can sing in Kabul, but not a girl or a woman in public,” the Oscar-winning actress continued.

“I feel that the international community as a whole, if they join forces, can affect change in Afghanistan and stop the slow suffocation of half the population,” she said.

The Taliban government, which has yet to be recognized by another country, unveiled a new law in August that was widely criticized as further tightening restrictions on women’s lives.

Although many of the measures had been unofficially imposed since the Taliban took over in 2021, their official codification drew an outcry from the international community and human rights groups.

The Law for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Immorality states that women should not raise their voices outside their homes and that they should not sing or recite poetry in public.

It requires them to cover their entire body and face when leaving their home, which they should only do “when necessary”.

Asila Wardak, one of the leaders of the Afghanistan Women’s Forum, said during the discussion that Afghan women are there to remind world leaders that “this struggle is not just an Afghan struggle” but “a global struggle against of extremism”.

The debate on the status of women in Afghanistan during the General Assembly this week was “a small sign of hope” for women there, said Fauzia Kufi, a former member of the Kabul parliament.

“But it is not enough,” he added, calling for the appointment of a special UN envoy tasked with putting pressure on the Taliban government.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that discrimination against women is seriously affecting Afghanistan.

“Women’s participation and leadership has proven benefits for peace and security, social protection, environmental stability and more. Afghanistan faces serious challenges in all these areas,” Guterres concluded.