The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  released a statement Monday condemning the idea that the Taliban was “reformed.” The statement from multiple human rights experts drew attention to the gap between the promises made by the Taliban during its return to power in 2021 and the reality of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan.

The experts stated:

[T]he policies they [the Taliban] have imposed on the Afghan population have resulted in a continuous, systematic and shocking rescinding of a multitude of human rights, including the rights to education, work, and freedoms of expression, assembly and association. Consistent credible reports of summary executions and acts tantamount to enforced disappearances, widespread arbitrary detention, torture, and ill treatment, as well as arbitrary displacement have caused increased concern.

The statement went on to point out the disparity between the treatment of men and women under Taliban rule. The group pointed out that in 2021 the Taliban promised to “uphold human rights obligations and women’s rights;” however, in 2022, girls were barred from school and women were banned from traveling without a male escort. Women have also been banned from public places and from attending university. The experts stated, “The hardest hit are women and girls, ethnic, religious and other minorities, people with disabilities, displaced persons, LGBTQ+ persons, human rights defenders and other civil society actors, journalists, artists, educators, and former government and security officials.”

The statement concluded with six demands on the Taliban, including:

1. A course reversal on the treatment of women and girls;
2. Reopening of schools at all levels, and fulfillment of the right to education for women and girls;
3. An end to reprisals against former government and security officials;
4. An end to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, and ill-treatment;
5. A reversal of actions aimed at shrinking civic space; and
6. Enforcement of strict measures to prevent ethnic and religious discrimination.