Extremist group Taliban says it will allow women access to education as it continues to advance with its plot to take over government from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

TRT World Now reports that Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said the insurgent’s government would respect the rights of women.

He also disclosed that the insurgents will allow women access to work, adding that punishments like executions, amputations and stoning will be at the discretion of courts.

“Rights of women will be respected – They will have access to education, work – They will be allowed to leave homes alone – Punishments like executions, stonings, amputations up to courts,” Mr Shaheen was quoted by TRT World to have said.

Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that Taliban fighters entered the city of Kabul on Sunday, demanding the unconditional surrender of the central government.

In the report, The Gazette disclosed that Mr Ghani will abdicate in the next few hours after the Taliban came into the city limits.

The extremist group has made major advances across Afghanistan as the U.S. and other countries started withdrawing their troops from the country. The original date for the full withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was September 11, to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The group has taken over most of southern, northern and western Afghanistan. Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and the biggest city in the north, fell to the Taliban on Saturday, as regional leaders and security forces abandoned the city fleeing to Uzbekistan for safety.

While in charge of Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban’s government was characterised by systematic violations against the rights of women and girls.

The U.S. government was forced to seize power from the insurgents in 2001 after series of human rights abuses including executions; and extreme suppression of freedom of religion, expression, and education was recorded under the Taliban rule.

However, in 2020, U.S. and the Taliban entered a truce, outlining a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments to restrain from attacks on the U.S. or its allies from Afghan territory.

As negotiations advanced, Human Rights Watch in 2020 highlighted the need to address issues bothering on fundamental human rights, with special focus on the rights of women and girls; education; freedom of expression and the media.