A female cat has more freedom in Afghanistan than a woman does, Hollywood actor Meryl Streep said at the United Nations on Tuesday in a bid to get world leaders to focus on the plight of Afghan women and girls.
"The way that ... this society has been upended is a cautionary tale for the rest of the world," Streep told an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to encourage the inclusion of women in the future of Afghanistan.
The Taliban seized power in August 2021 when United States-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war.
The UN has sought a unified global approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights.
The group has closed beauty salons and curtailed travel for women without a male guardian.
"Today in Kabul a female cat has more freedoms than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today, because the public parks have been closed to women and girls.
"A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not and a woman may not in public. This is extraordinary," Streep said.
Australia defends Afghan women after crackdown
Foreign Minister Penny Wong also expressed solidarity with the women of Afghanistan after meeting with some to hear their concerns on the sidelines of the UN summit.
"I made the point in that discussion that there is no peace in Afghanistan without the full participation of Afghan women," she told reporters in New York on Tuesday.
"I thank those women from Afghanistan and beyond who took the opportunity to share their stories with us ... their courage was deeply inspiring."
The Taliban say they respect rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law. The group formally codified a long set of rules governing morality last month that were based on a decree by the Taliban's supreme spiritual leader in 2022 and will be enforced by the morality ministry.
"Without educated women, without women in employment, including in leadership roles, and without recognising the rights and freedoms of one-half of its population, Afghanistan will never take its rightful place on the global stage," UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the event.
