As the Taliban step up their war on women and girls, it is clear that appeasement has failed | Gordon Brown

It is also the latest step in the plan of supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada to erase girls and women from public life. A total of 2.2 million girls have been excluded from secondary education, and up to 2.3 million primary school-age children are no longer attending lessons. Bennett is warning that conditions for girls and women are deteriorating and that the Taliban’s newly issued criminal procedure code foreshadows even more violations of girls’ and women’s rights. Russia became the first country to recognise the Taliban government and restore full diplomatic relations without securing any concessions on girls’ and women’s rights. China accepted the credentials of an ambassador from the Taliban regime in January 2024.