UN rights chief decries 'shocking oppression' of Afghan women by Taliban

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan woman walks among Taliban soldiers at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. rights chief accused Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Tuesday of a "shocking level of oppression" of women and girls and said human rights in the country were in a state of collapse.

The Islamist Taliban regained power in August 2021 after a two-decade insurgency against the Western-backed government and have deeply restricted the rights and freedoms of women and girls through bans on education and work.