Taliban dismiss UN concerns on women’s rights in Afghanistan

KABUL: The Taliban on Friday rejected the UN Security Council’s call to reverse heavy restrictions imposed on Afghan women, dismissing their concerns as “unfounded”. The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday that criticised the Taliban for limiting girls’ and women’s access to education, government jobs and freedom of movement since seizing power last year. Afghanistan’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has also ordered women to cover up — including their faces — when in public, triggering international outrage.