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Child marriage prevalent human rights violation in Afghanistan: UN
Child marriage is the most prevalent human rights violation in Afghanistan, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a statement.
Every year, millions of girls are subjected to practices that harm them physically and emotionally, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends, and communities, the UNFPA said.
According to the statement released on Tuesday, conflict, poverty, and holding on to certain traditional beliefs and behaviors put underage girls at risk in Afghanistan, especially in remote and rural areas.
“These risks not only prevent girls from their human rights, but also their social rights, and prevents them from education, harms their protection, and increases health threats including their reproductive health and the ability to choose if and when they have children,” the statement said.
“Harmful practices against girls cause profound and lasting trauma, robbing them of their right to reach their full potential,” says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem.
Many harmful practices are human rights violations because they arise from discriminatory gender norms that perpetuate inequality. And they are imposed on women and girls, regardless of consent.
The UN said that violence against women has been increased during the lockdown. The Attorney General Office of Afghanistan recorded 249 cases of beatings during the Coronavirus quarantine.
“The pandemic both makes our job harder and more urgent as so many more girls are now at risk,” Dr. Kanem says. “We will not stop until the rights, choices, and bodies of all girls are fully their own.”
The UNFPA noted that governments should ensure these practices end because they have ratified the international treaties to protect the rights of women and children.
“Afghanistan has signed on most international conventions to protect children, including early marriage. From the policy perspective, the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Early and Child Marriage (NAP ECM) in Afghanistan has been adopted and is key progress towards prevention and ending the early marriage in the country, but it needs implementation continues to be a challenge,” read the statement.
Child marriage is a fundamental violation of human rights that robs girls of their education, health, and long term prospects. The elimination of child marriage requires joint action of the Government of Afghanistan, religious communities, civil society, and national and international partners.
“We need to renew our commitment and ensure this harmful practice is prevented, and girls and their rights are respected,” the organization said.
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US companies are welcome to join TAPI project: Turkmenistan’s ex-president
In an interview with Al Arabiya, former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said international companies, including United States firms, are welcome to join the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
Berdymukhamedov noted that while the project enjoys U.S. support, it will need to navigate longstanding regional tensions, as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have seen outbreaks of deadly fighting over the past year.
“This project, which enjoys international support, including from the United States, possesses immense potential in meeting the growing energy needs of South Asian nations. It also opens promising avenues for accessing the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Near East, and the Middle East,” he said.
“The TAPI project is also of paramount importance for political stability and economic prosperity, maintaining high investment attractiveness,” Berdymukhamedov added.
Turkmenistan plans to complete the first section of the pipeline, reaching the Afghan city of Herat, by the end of 2026. No plans have yet been announced to extend the project further south.
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UK’s Reform party pledges visa ban affecting Afghanistan and five other states
The British political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is set to impose a blanket visa ban on Afghanistan and five other countries — including Pakistan — as part of its proposed crackdown on illegal migration and states refusing to accept deported nationals.
In a speech set for Monday, the party’s newly appointed “shadow” home secretary, Zia Yusuf, will outline plans to halt all visas for diplomats, students, workers, VIPs and tourists from Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Reform says these governments fail to cooperate in accepting back deported migrants and convicted criminals.
Pakistan received more than 160,000 UK visas last year, making it one of the biggest visa recipients. However, British officials say Islamabad accepts back only a small fraction of rejected asylum seekers and has resisted pressure to take back individuals convicted in high-profile criminal cases.
The move – which mirrors US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries – would be a key element in Reform’s strategy to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants from the UK on five charter flights a day.
On legal migration, Yusuf will say a Reform government would terminate all welfare payments to foreign nationals, including the 1.3 million currently receiving UC, up from around 900,000 in 2022.
Yusuf is expected to say that years of weak immigration enforcement have undermined public trust and that a Reform government would secure Britain’s borders and make people feel safe.
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Ex-US envoy Khalilzad condemns Pakistan air attacks on Afghanistan
He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.
Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has strongly condemned Sunday’s airstrikes by Pakistan on Afghanistan. He stated that these attacks killed and wounded numerous innocent women, children, and elderly.
Khalilzad pointed to Pakistan’s long history of misgovernance, interference in minority rights, manipulation of democratic processes, and repeated military takeovers as the root causes.
He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.
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