KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Rights groups say that the Taliban, by issuing restrictive orders against women, have created an environment of systematic oppression and gender-based discrimination equivalent to gender apartheid.
In a report entitled “REVERSAL AND REPRESSION: State of Women’s Rights and Civic Space in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan (2021-2023),” Rawadari, a UK-based rights group, Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+), and other groups and individuals, say that the Taliban has issued over 60 decrees, orders, and edicts curtailing women’s rights.
The report was prepared for the 46th session of the Universal Periodic Review, which assesses the human rights situation in Afghanistan. The review took place today, April 29, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
The report’s data was gathered from 29 provinces across Afghanistan, as well as from stakeholders outside the country, through local focal points, open sources, interviews, and informants.
The report uncovers widespread violations of women’s rights by the Taliban, including 136 instances of arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of women in many provinces, such as Kabul, Ghazni, and Badakhshan, between August 2021 and November 2022.
“Reasons for detention ranged from association with the previous government to voicing opposition to Taliban’s policies. Charges or accusations from DFA [Taliban] also included fleeing home to marry (‘elopement’) or failure to adhere to hijab requirements.”
For nearly three years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, women and girls in the country have been subjected to severe repression of their rights and freedoms, which UN experts, legal scholars and activists agree amounts to a system of apartheid to deliberately subjugate them on the basis of gender.
Since then, the ruling regime has issued over 60 discriminatory decrees against women, effectively confining them to the corners of their homes. The Taliban’s edicts formalized discrimination and exclusion of women and girls from most aspects of public life.
The Taliban argue that their policies and practices are rooted in Islamic Sharia law and Afghan traditions, claiming that human rights and equality are Western concepts that clash with Islamic principles.
The report of the rights groups indicates that while challenges in women’s healthcare have persisted in Afghanistan for decades, characterized by high maternal mortality rates and limited access to healthcare in rural areas, the situation significantly deteriorated following the Taliban’s imposition of a travel restriction of 45 miles without a male escort (mahram) for women. This restriction further impedes women’s access to healthcare.
“The Taliban have also restricted male doctors treating female patients and prohibited female medical students from final exams.”
Concerning Afghan women’s access to justice, the report highlights that the Taliban have dismantled established laws and mechanisms safeguarding women and girls, and have also excluded women from legal and judicial institutions.
“Rawadari findings reveal that the Taliban terminated the employment of approximately 1,016 professional and administrative staff from various sections of the Attorney General’s Office, along with 2,000 male and female judges nationwide.”
According to the report, the regime has also dismantled the specialized units tasked with addressing violence against women and children, along with the unit dedicated to combating harassment of women in government offices.
“Additionally, the Taliban disassembled 27 women’s protection centers (shelters) which had been provided under the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (LEVAW) and supervised under a special department at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.”
At the UN Human Rights Council meeting, participants expressed concerns regarding the Taliban’s human rights abuses in Afghanistan, calling on the regime to lift restrictions, especially those affecting women and girls.
Nasir Andisha, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, highlighted the systematic erosion of basic rights in the country. “Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world for women’s rights, with ongoing deep inequalities and the impacts of persistent conflicts,” he said.
Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the Chargé d’Affaires of Afghanistan at the UN, urged the Council to take decisive action against the Taliban. He advocated for stronger measures against the Kabul regime, including the imposition of sanctions.
Shah Gul Rezai, a former member of the Afghanistan Parliament, said that the Taliban are unwilling to adhere to the international laws and treaties that Afghanistan has signed, and have specifically targeted the rights of women and ethnic minorities.
Ms. Rezai also noted that following their return to power, the Taliban released members of terrorist groups, including those associated with Al-Qaeda, from prisons across Afghanistan. This action has led to destabilization within the country and the broader region.
