Taliban Restrict Women’s Right To Sports Even As Paris Olympics Begin, Says HRW

Human Rights Watch has said that the Paris Olympics have begun even though the Taliban in Afghanistan have deprived millions of women and girls of their right to education and sports.

The organisation has called on the Taliban to end the restrictions on the basic rights of women and girls.

Coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, Human Rights Watch wrote on X social media platform, "As the Paris Olympics begin, millions of women and girls in Afghanistan are being denied the right to education and sports."

The human rights organisation has urged the Taliban to end the mistreatment of Afghan women and girls and to lift the restrictions imposed on them.

Over the past three years, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on women's work and activities. In addition to prohibiting girls from attending school above the sixth grade and preventing them from entering universities and educational centres, the group has also banned women's sports.

Earlier, the spokesperson for the Taliban-controlled Olympic Committee told Agence France-Presse that they do not recognise the three Afghan female athletes who are participating in the Paris Olympics.

Six Afghan athletes, three women and three men, are representing Afghanistan in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Additionally, five Afghan athletes are participating in the event as part of the International Olympic Committee's refugee team, bringing the total number of Afghan athletes at the Paris Olympics to eleven.