Actor Meryl Streep shows solidarity at UN with Afghan women, girls

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A female cat has more freedom in Afghanistan than a woman does, Hollywood actor Meryl Streep said at the United Nations on Monday in a bid to get world leaders to focus on the plight of Afghan women and girls.

"The way that ... this society has been upended is a cautionary tale for the rest of the world," Streep told an event on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to encourage the inclusion of women in the future of Afghanistan.

The Taliban seized power in August 2021 when U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. The U.N. has sought a unified global approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights.

Most girls have been barred from high school and women from universities by the Taliban. The group has closed beauty salons and curtailed travel for women without a male guardian.

"Today in Kabul a female cat has more freedoms than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today, because the public parks have been closed to women and girls," Streep said.

"A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not and a woman may not in public. This is extraordinary," she said.

The Taliban say they respect rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law. The group formally codified a long set of rules governing morality last month that were based on a decree by the Taliban's supreme spiritual leader in 2022 and will be enforced by the morality ministry.

"Without educated women, without women in employment, including in leadership roles, and without recognizing the rights and freedoms of one-half of its population, Afghanistan will never take its rightful place on the global stage," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the event.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Howard Goller)