International Women's Tribune Centre wrote:

> GLOBALNET 90
>
> International Women's Tribune Centre, 777 United Nations Plaza, New
> York,
> NY 10017, Tel: (1-212) 687-8633.  Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 .
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH  YOUR
NETWORKS.
>
> July 14, 1997
>
> by Anne S. Walker
>
> AN UPDATE ON THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN
>
> "On September 27, 1996, the world watched as the Taliban captured
> Kabul."
> So begins an article by Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International, London,
> published on April 26, 1997 by The Lancet, a prestigious British
> medical
> journal. "At first, governments, including Pakistan and the USA,
> welcomed
> the arrival. Oil companies also saw the Taliban takeover as a
> "positive"
> development. For the people of Kabul, it was the beginning of a reign
> of
> terror. Today the Taliban rule about two-thirds of Afghanistan and
> have
> imposed  a strict social and legal order in accordance with their
> fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law (Shari'a). Women in
> particular now face severe restrictions on their freedom of movement
> and
> access to health care, education and employment. The Taliban have
> banned
> women from most occupations....but some female doctors and nurses
have
>
> been allowed to continue their work because Taliban rules of work
> state
> that women should only be attended by female physicians. However,
> women
> who work in areas controlled by the Taliban are exposed to brutal
> treatment on an almost daily basis. Many female doctors and nurses
are
>
> beaten or forced to witness beatings of female colleagues by Taliban
> guards. These armed young men are a constant presence in hospitals
and
>
> are able to intervene whenever they want to as part of the Department
> for Enforcement of Morals...In this intimidating environment, many
> doctors who witness Taliban violence against women do not feel able
to
>
> help. Women who venture out onto streets to seek medical care, or for
> any other reason, are frequently attacked by Taliban guards and
warned
>
> not to appear on the streets again......Recently a pregnant woman
> delivered her baby in a Kabul street while her husband was being
> beaten
> by guards for taking her to the hospital." The Lancet, April 26, 1997,
>
> via the Women's Human Rights Network, <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Call for Action to Hold the Taliban Accountable: An international
> group
> of activists, participating in a women's human rights institute at the
>
> Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University in
> June, issued the following call for action. The group ask that people
> everywhere adopt this petition and direct it to their own governments.
>
> They further request that a copy of the petition with signatures, or a
>
> report of how many signatures were gathered from your country, be
sent
>
> to CWGL so that they can present them to the United Nations and the
US
>
> Government as part of an international effort to support women in
> Afghanistan in their fight against injustice. Please feel free to
> translate the petition as necessary, and to allow space for signatures
>
> or endorsements. Send a copy or a report of the number of names
> gathered to CWGL. Fax:(1-908) 932-1180. E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Petition on behalf of the rights of Afghan women:
>
> We, the undersigned, are deeply alarmed at the practices and policies
> of the Taliban against Afghan women and girls. We urge the Taliban
> to immediately cease its gender apartheid, and allow Afghan women
> to work outside their homes, earn income, and acces the Afghan
> society's education, health and other resources. We urge the Taliban
> to respect Afghan women's rights to education, to safety and the
> sharing of public spaces, and  to public mobility. We further urge
> the Taliban to lift the forced veiling and imposed dress code policy
> against women, and to uphold the human rights of Afghan women and
men
> as accorded to them under Islamic constitutional laws.
>
> We call upon governments, the international community, the UN and
> multinational corporations, to hold the Taliban accountable to uphold
> and respect the human, civil and political rights of Afghan women,
> girls and men. We call upon these bodies to withhold: recognition
> of the Taliban; access to the UN seat; and donor assistance. We ask
> that economic transactions be conditional upon the respect of the
> Taliban towards the Afghan people and particularly the human rights
> of women and girls .
>
> We urge the US Congress and other governmental and
intergovernmental
> bodies, to appropriate development assistance monies in support of
> Afghan women's education, skill building, capacity-building,
> health-related programmes and other basic needs for civil society.