Straddling Constructivism between UN Women and Cultural Relativism of the Taliban Government on Gender Discrimination in Afghanistan

The global community was alarmed at what will become the human rights situation of girls and women in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the USA from the polity and the political ascendancy of the Taliban government in 2021. As expected, Afghan girls and women have been facing severe violations of human rights since the Taliban government gained political power; citing cultural relativism. This cultural relativist excuse of the Taliban government has however been countered by the universality of human rights that Afghan girls and women are entitled to certain freedoms by virtue of being humans. The UN Women, among other human rights vanguards, have been serving as a platform to provide safe haven for women against the violations of human rights by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Understanding that gender discrimination situation is what UN Women aims to address falls within the constructivist contention of relativity and universality of human rights, this study draws on secondary sources of data to examine the context of interplay between ethnicity, culture, politics and human rights of girls and women in Afghanistan. The study also interrogates counter-narratives of the Afghan people against the Taliban’s position and provides a clear argument of how UN Women has been able to provide support for Afghan women and girls. The study argues that UN Women, despite the Taliban’s unapologetic abuse and violations of women and girls rights, is able to provide support for women and girls who suffer gender discrimination in Afghanistan. The study concludes that the cultural relativist excuse of the Taliban does not, in its entirety, represent the cultural norms and attitudes of the Afghan societies. Gender apartheid was not a consistent order of the multi-ethnic configuration in Afghanistan and the political leaders who have ruled at different times had different policy dispositions to women

Afghan · Constructivism (international relations · Cultural relativism · Excuse · Feminism · Human rights · Oppression · Politics · Relativism · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Legal, Health, Environmental and COVID-19 Challenges · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East