@abcnews: “A female cat has more freedoms than a woman” in Afghanistan, 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 under the Taliban. The Taliban seized power in August 2021 when U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. The U.N. has since sought a unified global approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights. "A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face,” Streep said. “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."