Eleven members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a meeting held on January 13, urged the Taliban to end its repressive treatment of women in Afghanistan, as the group continued to impose restrictive policies on their education and work, reports Al Jazeera. Ever since the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US troop withdrawal squeezed women out of almost all areas of public life, banning them from secondary and higher education, public sector work and visiting parks. Japanese Ambassador Ishikane Kimihiro, speaking on behalf of 11 members of the UNSC stated, “We urge the Taliban to immediately reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls.” The 11 members – Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States – called on the Taliban to “respect the rights of women and girls, and their full, equal and meaningful participation and inclusion across all aspects of society in Afghanistan, from political and economic, to education and public space”. They also called on the authorities in Afghanistan to reverse bans on women working for aid groups or attending universities and high school.