Meryl Streep Highlights Afghan Women’s Plight, Comparing Their Freedom to That of Cats
At an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Hollywood actress Meryl Streep made a poignant appeal to the international community, stating that cats in Afghanistan enjoy more freedom than women under the Taliban regime. Her comments come in light of the increasing restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban regained control of the country.
Streep remarked, “Today in Kabul, a female cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat may sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face; she may chase a squirrel in the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban.” She emphasized that women are now barred from schools, parks, gyms, and many jobs, and must cover their faces and bodies in public.
The actress’s remarks coincided with the Taliban’s recent introduction of “morality laws,” which include restrictions on women’s voices in public and their ability to look at men who are not family members. Streep described the situation as a “suppression of natural law” and called for world leaders to take action against what she termed the “slow suffocation” of Afghan women and girls.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed Streep’s sentiments, stating that Afghanistan “will never take its rightful place on the global stage” without the active participation of educated women.
In response to Streep’s remarks, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen asserted that the Taliban respects women and denied any comparison between women and animals. He emphasized that women hold essential roles in families and society and claimed that hundreds of thousands of women are employed in various government ministries and as entrepreneurs.
The Taliban has faced widespread condemnation from Western nations, including the United States and the European Union, for the new laws, which they argue are in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. The group has also stated its intention to reform the education system to align more closely with Islamic principles, promising that women would eventually be allowed back into schools. However, no tangible progress has been made to date.
