Overview

• Meryl Streep stated that women in Afghanistan have fewer rights than animals, using the metaphor of a cat having more freedom.
• Her comments were made during an event at the United Nations General Assembly focused on Afghan women's rights.
• The Taliban's new 'morality laws' ban women from public speaking, attending schools, and even looking at unrelated men.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that Afghanistan cannot progress globally without the inclusion of educated women.
• Streep and Afghan activists urged the international community to unite against the Taliban's gender apartheid and restore women's freedoms.