In another set back for women in Afghanistan, the Taliban have banned the sale of contraceptives claiming that their use is a “western conspiracy to control Muslim population.”
Taliban has stopped sales of all birth control related items in two of the country’s main cities– the capital Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif. For this, a gag order has been issued to pharmacies to dispose all birth control medicines and devices, the Guardian reported.
In fact, Taliban members have been going door-to-door to convey their message by threating midwives and pharmacies to get rid of any birth control related stuff.
“They came to my store twice with guns and threatened me not to keep contraceptive pills for sale. They are regularly checking every pharmacy in Kabul and we have stopped selling the products,” a store owner told Guardian.
According to a midwife, the Taliban told her that she was “not allowed” to go outside and promote the western concept of controlling population. She added according to them, this was an “unnecessary work.”
Other pharmacy owners in the two cities confirmed that they were have been told to not restock any birth control items and that they were too scared to sell the existing stock.
Other Taliban policies on women
This is not the first time Taliban been attacking women’s rights and freedoms since taking the reigns in August 2021.
Women were banned from attending universities and working in NGOs.
The ban on female aid workers was announced by the Taliban-led administration on December 24. It followed a ban imposed earlier last month on women attending universities. Girls were stopped from attending high school in March.
Women and girls have also been ordered to cover their bodies in public, ideally in an all-encompassing burqa.
World’s response
The UN security council has called on the Taliban to reverse policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, expressing alarm at the “increasing erosion” of human rights.
The US pushed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling on the Taliban-led authorities in Afghanistan to reverse bans on women working for aid groups or attending universities and high school.
11 Security Council members – including the US, Britain and France – issued a joint statement urging the Taliban to reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls.
However, the Taliban authorities have shown no alteration in their rather strict policy regarding women’s education, employment and movement in the country.
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