Afghanistan, Feb. 24 -- Antalena Barbuk, President of the UN General Assembly, made a candid admission at the UN Human Rights Council, acknowledging the failure of the international community, including the UN itself, to protect women's rights in Afghanistan.
She described the ongoing violations as some of the worst structural human rights abuses, with some observers calling them a form of gender-based apartheid against Afghan women and girls.
Barbuk reflected on past diplomatic discussions in Geneva and New York, noting that assumptions about regional differences in oppression, such as Kandahari women versus those in Kabul, led to a diminished focus on women's rights.
"Tolerance in the face of the most severe human rights violations nev...