Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, says the human rights situation of children and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule continues to deteriorate, and that the restrictions imposed are seriously threatening the future of an entire generation.
Bennett said on Monday, September 7, at the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council that he continues to receive reports of girls dying by suicide in Afghanistan.
Quoting an Afghan girl, he said: “Three words define our lives: fear, tears, and despair.”
The UN Special Rapporteur also said that the Taliban continue to reject the internationally accepted definition of a child and, through new decrees and directives, are restricting and violating children’s rights.
According to Bennett, regulations on marriage introduced by the Taliban consider reaching puberty sufficient for marriage. He added that under these regulations, even a girl’s silence can be interpreted as her consent to marriage—an issue that has increased concerns over child and forced marriages in Afghanistan.
Bennett’s latest report, which examines the human rights situation in Afghanistan from November 2025 to August 2026, states that Taliban policies and decrees have affected nearly every aspect of people’s lives, particularly those of women, girls, children, and young people.
The report also highlights the crisis in girls’ education, hunger, child labor, forced and child marriages, and the weakening of child protection mechanisms. According to information cited in the report, millions of Afghan girls remain deprived of education.
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