The International Criminal Court (ICC) should recognize gender discrimination in Afghanistan as a crime against humanity and investigate it with the aim of prosecuting those responsible, U.N. global education envoy Gordon Brown said on Tuesday.
On the second anniversary of the Taliban's return to power as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war, Brown said he had written to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to argue his point.
"This is the worst example of the abuse of human rights against girls and women around the world and if we allow this to happen and continue with impunity then others may try to do exactly the same," Brown told reporters.
Girls over the age of 12 have been mostly excluded from school classes since the Taliban returned to power. The Taliban have also stopped most Afghan female staff from working at aid agencies, closed beauty salons, barred women from parks and curtailed travel for women in the absence of a male guardian.
"The International Criminal Court should recognize this gender discrimination as a crime against humanity and investigate it with a view to the arraignment and prosecution of those responsible," said Brown, a former British prime minister.