KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan has become the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis three years after the Taliban takeover as the group tightens its grip on power, according to an international rights watchdog.
“Under the Taliban, Afghanistan is the only country where girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade,” HRW said in a statement on Monday, adding the Taliban continue to deny women and girls their rights to education, work, movement, assembly, and other freedoms.
According to HRW, the Taliban authorities have pursued their crackdown on women for not covering up in public based on a dress code the group imposed in May 2022. Since earlier this year, the group has detained many women and girls in Kabul and other provinces for violating this law, some of them were held incommunicado and subjected to abuse and intimidation.
“The Taliban dismantled protections for women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, created barriers to them accessing health care, and barred them from playing sports and even visiting parks,” the statement read.
The statement comes days after the Taliban announced August 15 as a public holiday to mark the third anniversary of their return to power in the country.
It was the same day the group overran the capital in 2021 as the Western-backed government collapsed and the last remaining foreign troops withdrew two weeks later.
Taliban authorities have since imposed their strict interpretation of Sharia law on the country, resulting in dramatic reversals on women’s rights.
No foreign country has yet granted legitimacy to the regime, citing human rights concerns, including violations of women’s rights.
“Under the Taliban’s abusive rule, Afghan women and girls are living their worst nightmares,” said Fereshta Abbasi, researcher at Human Rights Watch. “All governments should support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account.”
HRW says the ruling regime has also imposed extensive censorship on the media and access to information, intensified their curbs on freedom of expression, and increased detention and torture of journalists, protestors, and other critics.
Afghanistan has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than half of the population—23 million people—in urgent need of assistance. The nonprofit watchdog indicated this has significantly affected women and girls.
The lack of funding from foreign donors has deteriorated the country’s healthcare system while the Taliban’s limitation on women and girls means their right to health is further threatened.
“Taliban restrictions on women and girls have impeded access to health care, jeopardizing their right to health,” Human Rights Watch said. “The Taliban’s education bans guarantee future shortages of female health workers.”
HRW emphasized that the donor countries need to find ways to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis without reinforcing the Taliban’s repressive policies against women.
According to Human Rights Watch, thousands of Afghanistan citizens who fled the country after the Taliban takeover remain in limbo in third countries, including Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Turkey. Many of these individuals are living in dire conditions, with limited access to food, water, shelter, and healthcare.
“The third anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover is a grim reminder of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis, but it should also be a call for action,” Abbasi said. “Governments engaging with the Taliban should consistently remind them that their abuses against women and girls and all Afghans violate Afghanistan’s obligations under international law. Donors should provide assistance aimed at reaching those most in need and crafting durable solutions to Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.”
