Addressing the UN Security Council, the US Ambassador strongly criticized the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, stating that Afghan women have been stripped of fundamental rights under Taliban rule and that “animals have more rights than Afghan women.”
The envoy described the Taliban regime as one that imposes severe restrictions on education, employment, freedom of movement, and public participation, urging the international community to remain focused on the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has sharply condemned the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women and girls, saying the group of sheltering terrorist organizations and presiding over a system marked by arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and severe restrictions on women’s rights.
Addressing the UN Security Council on September 16, Waltz called for concrete action from the Taliban, questioning how long the international community could continue relying on engagement without seeing measurable changes.
“How many UN reports documenting abuse? How many Council resolutions demanding change? How many years of ‘engagement’ can we pass before we see measurable results?” Waltz asked.
He then told the Council: “This Council must demand results from the Taliban. We need to see action, not words.”
Waltz specifically highlighted restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls.
According to reporting from the Security Council meeting, the US ambassador described it as “heartbreaking” that Afghan girls remain barred from secondary and higher education. He also criticized restrictions preventing Afghan women working for the United Nations from entering UN compounds.
The issue was also raised by UN officials during the meeting.
The UN has documented continuing restrictions on Afghan women across education, employment and public participation since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
At a UN event in September 2024, actress Meryl Streep drew international attention when she said that a cat in Kabul had greater freedom than an Afghan woman because the animal could go outside and experience sunlight, while women faced restrictions on movement and access to public spaces.
Streep also compared the situation of Afghan girls with that of a squirrel, arguing that a squirrel had greater freedoms than an Afghan girl.
Waltz’s September 16 speech quoted the actress and directly addressed the same underlying issue: the Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women and girls and the lack of measurable change despite years of international engagement.
The criticism comes as the UN continues to document extensive restrictions imposed on Afghan women.
UN officials told the Security Council that women continue to face barriers to education, employment and participation in public life. The UN has also raised concerns over restrictions preventing Afghan female employees from entering UN facilities.
The Security Council discussion therefore brought together two closely connected concerns: the security threat posed by terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan and the continued exclusion of women from significant parts of Afghan public life.
The US ambassador’s central message was that continued diplomatic engagement should be accompanied by tangible changes.
His call for “action, not words” reflected Washington’s criticism that years of international engagement had not produced sufficient progress on issues including terrorism, detention of Americans and women’s rights.
