メリル・ストリープさん「アフガンでは少女よりもリスの方が権利ある」

【国連本部（米国）ＡＦＰ＝時事】米俳優メリル・ストリープさんは２３日、アフガニスタンでは少女よりも「リスの方が多くの権利を持っている」と述べた。イスラム主義組織タリバン政権による女性や少女の権利制限の撤廃を求める同国女性の声に賛同するもの。（写真は、米ニューヨークの国連本部で行われたアフガニスタン女性の未来をめぐる会合に参加する米俳優メリル・ストリープさん〈右から２人目〉）
　タリバンは２０２１年８月に政権を掌握して以降、イスラム法の厳格な解釈を適用。女性や少女に対し、公園への立ち入りや大学への通学、公共の場での歌唱などを禁止しており、国連は「ジェンダー・アパルトヘイト」だと批判している。
　ストリープさんは米ニューヨークで国連総会に合わせて行われた会合で「きょうのアフガンでは、少女よりもリスの方が多くの権利を持っている。タリバンが女性や少女の公園の利用を禁じているからだ」「（アフガンの首都）カブールで鳥は歌うことができるが、少女や女性は公共の場でそれができない」と主張。
　「国際社会が一丸となれば、アフガンに変化をもたらし、同国人口の半分（を占める女性）の緩慢な窒息を阻止することができると感じている」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/25-16:46）

American actor Meryl Streep has said a squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan, adding her voice to a call by Afghan women to end the Taliban government's severe restrictions on their lives.
Taliban authorities have implemented an austere interpretation of Islamic law since returning to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.
Women and girls have borne the brunt of restrictions -- including being barred from public parks, universities and singing in public -- which the United Nations has labeled gender apartheid.
A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban, Streep said on Monday during a discussion on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not, and a woman may not in public, the Oscar-winning actor said.
I feel that the international community as a whole, if they came together, could affect change in Afghanistan, and stop the slow suffocation of an entire half (of) the population.
The Taliban government, which is yet to be recognized by any other country, published a widely criticized law in August further tightening restrictions on women's lives.
While many of the measures had been informally enforced since the Taliban's takeover in 2021, their formal codification sparked an outcry from the international community and rights groups.
The vice and virtue law dictates that a woman's voice should not be raised outside the home and that women should not sing or read poetry aloud.
It requires them to cover their entire body and face if they need to leave their homes, which they should only do out of necessity.
Asila Wardak, a leader of the Women's Forum on Afghanistan, said at the UN discussion Afghan women were there to remind world leaders that this fight is not only an Afghan fight but a global fight against extremism.
Speaking about the situation of Afghan women during the General Assembly this week was a small sign of hope for them, said Fawzia Koofi, a former member of parliament in Kabul.
But it's not enough, she said, calling for the appointment of a UN special envoy to put pressure on the Taliban government.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that discrimination against women was causing major damage to Afghanistan.
Educating girls is one of the fastest ways to kick-start economic development and improve the health, well-being and prosperity of communities and entire societies, Guterres said.
Women's participation and leadership has proven benefits for peace and security, social protection, environmental stability and more, he said.
Afghanistan faces serious challenges in all these areas.