A senior Republican on Thursday slammed the Biden administration for failing to protect Afghan girls with a “silent” response that saw only six Taliban thugs placed on a visa blacklist for abuse of young women.
President Joe Biden is already under scrutiny as Republicans launch investigations into his handling of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration’s action to protect the girls was “appalling” and called for tougher action.
“Most disturbingly, these limited visa restrictions have been the administration’s only response to the Taliban’s horrific treatment of women and girls, despite President Biden’s promise to hold the Taliban accountable,” he wrote. in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“I urge the administration to take greater action to address the Taliban’s inhumane treatment of women and girls, including by imposing broader visa restriction sanctions against Taliban officials.”
The Taliban took control of the country in August 2021 with the departure of American troops.
The Taliban have reversed two decades of progress since taking over the country in August 2021. Girls have suffered the most, excluded from secondary education and above
Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions for Taliban officials who were preventing girls from going to school. Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said only six figures had been penalties and demanded tougher action.
Since then, the country’s brutal new rulers have reversed two decades of progress.
They banned women and girls from going to college or high school. Women are not allowed to visit Kabul’s parks or use gymnasiums throughout the country.
Women must wear the full, full hijab and can no longer work in most sectors. They must be accompanied by a male attendant if they travel more than 75 kilometers (46 miles).
Blinken announced new measures last month.
“I am taking action today to impose additional visa restrictions on certain current or former members of the Taliban, members of non-state security groups and others suspected of being responsible for or complicit in the repression of women and girls in Afghanistan,” he said. .
A day later, his spokesman Ned Price provided more details. He said six people had been punished for denying girls access to education, employment or violating their human rights.
“Due to visa confidentiality laws, we are unable to name individuals subject to this policy,” he said.
McCaul could barely contain his outrage in the letter.
McCaul lays out his frustration with the administration in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding tougher action on Taliban thugs who keep girls out of school
Women have been barred from employment and need male companions for long journeys
“A total of eight Taliban members are currently legally barred from entering the United States,” he wrote.
“It’s appalling given that the State Department routinely imposes far more expansive visa restrictions on other malicious actors.”
By contrast, he added, the department imposed visa restrictions on more than 500 Nicaraguan regime officials for obstructing democracy in a single day last year.
Last month it emerged that the Taliban had begun imposing blanket bans on all forms of contraception in two of Afghanistan’s two largest cities, according to Afghan media, in the latest crackdown on women’s rights.
Pharmacies and doctors in the capital Kabul and the fourth-largest city of Mazar-e-Sharif confirmed to Afghan women-run news outlet Rukhshana Media that Taliban officials had ordered them not to sell any contraceptives.
President Joe Biden remains under heavy scrutiny over decision to withdraw from Afghanistan
The actions have put more pressure on Biden administration officials.
Karen Decker, the top US diplomat in Afghanistan, recently had to delete a tweet. Afghan women needed “Black Girl Magic” as they were oppressed under the Taliban regime.
She added that celebrities like Beyonce and Lizzo might be able to share their wisdom with Afghan women, who have been essentially shut out of school and working entirely since the Taliban takeover.
Decker, the U.S. Mission in Afghanistan’s Chargé d’Affaires, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, “Do Afghans know about #BlackGirlMagic and the movement it inspired? Do Afghan girls need a similar movement? What about Afghan women?
‘Teach me, ready to learn. @Beyonce @lizzo @ReginaKing’, he read.
She issued an apology after deleting the posts.
