Photo: instagram/@nak
Despite all efforts, women’s rights have been pushed back in recent years with experts claiming that progress previously achieved is now being lost. As the United Nations holds its 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women UAE Minister of State, Noura Al Kaabi, has decried the continued exclusion of women in decision-making.
At a ministerial debate on women, peace, and security Al Kaabi highlighted the urgency of the worsening situation: “The message is clear: Globally, with every one step forward for women and girls, we take two steps back.” She insisted that such exclusion and disregard for the rights of women is “no longer acceptable” and demanded action by all attending states.
Photo: instagram.com/amnesty
For the minister, the situation in Afghanistan is of particular concern which is why she called for their roles to be strengthened. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, Afghan women and girls have been systematically excluded from all areas including education, the workplace, and even public spaces. A report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan claimed that the Taliban ban on female education “may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity.”
At the opening session of the Commission UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres mirrors the anxiety held by Al Kaabi as he stated that, “on the current track, UN Women puts it [gender equality] 300 years away. El Kaabi cited the UAE’s efforts in bridging these gaps in its preparations for COP 28, “as the UAE prepares to host Cop28, two-thirds of the UAE’s leadership team and more than half of the management team are women,” before adding that “excuses for excluding women are no longer acceptable and we must all hold ourselves to the same standards.”
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