Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-16-Speech-4-160"
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"en.19991216.7.4-160"2
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"Mr President, why has the situation of women in Afghanistan been raised in this debate on topical and urgent subjects of major importance? The answer is that, although discrimination against women has become a common problem in today’s world, the discrimination being experienced by women in Afghanistan is unique and without precedent. This is the explanation given by one of the courageous women who is standing up and telling the world about this abominable situation.
There is therefore no doubt about the urgency of this issue and this has been the case since 1996. Terror and fanaticism have swept through Afghanistan since the arrival of the Taliban. Women are their bête noire and the hatred which they have unleashed against them is expressed in inhuman violence. All females, including young girls, are subject to a strict regime of segregation. They have no freedom of speech, no access to healthcare and no right to work. They are forced to cover themselves from head to toe which is like living in a walking prison. They can be beaten in the street simply for not covering their faces and hair correctly. In addition to physical cruelty, there is every evidence that almost all the women living in Afghanistan are subject to psychological pressures which are leading them to depression and suicide. This situation can only get worse because girls are not allowed to be educated beyond the age of nine. The direct consequences on all children are terrible for one child in five is dying before the age of five.
These conditions are even less acceptable given that, in the past, Afghan women participated in public life as students, professionals, officials or even parliamentarians. This treatment, which is impossible for a human being to even conceive, is not a religious issue or a question of cultural tradition, as some would have us believe. It is a barbaric system which forces women into a sub-human status. We must react against this apartheid. We must stop these fanatics who are greedy for power and secretly supported not only by the regime in Pakistan and its Koranic schools but also, unfortunately, by American services.
Several women’s organisations have been calling for some time for all the countries of the world to increase pressure on the Taliban. The UN and the European Union have rightly made their aid conditional on respect for human rights. As indicated in the motion for a resolution which, like Mrs Morgantini, I ask you to support en masse, I call on the Council not to recognise any regime in Afghanistan until sexual discrimination is eliminated. The Council must be more active and at least as active as it was with regard to Bin Laden. NGOs are also present in part of the country. We must help them and ensure that a proper action plan is implemented to support their work. We must also help the Afghan women who are in Europe organising themselves. They must receive our support and help."@en1
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