KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international rights group, says Afghan women who served as police under the previous government have reported abuse from former colleagues and threats from the Taliban.
In a report titled “Double Betrayal: Abuses Against Afghan Policewomen Past and Present,” released on Thursday, HRW stated that the Taliban’s consistent threats have forced many former policewomen to go into hiding in Afghanistan.
The report has been prepared based on in-person and remote interviews with 24 former policewomen in Afghanistan and abroad, as well as insights from former and current UN officials and civil society activists familiar with the issue.
Former policewomen recounted receiving intimidating phone calls from Taliban authorities, instructing them to report for questioning and warning of consequences related to their past work.
“I received a call from the Taliban telling me to come back to my job. I gave them a fake name, but they accused me of lying and said that I must show up for my job at any cost. I got scared and cut off the phone call,” said a former policewoman now in hiding.
“Again, I received a phone call and this time I was asked, ‘Will you come by yourself, or should we come and drag you by the hair and bring you?’” she added.
The former policewomen also reported abusive searches of their homes by Taliban forces, saying that they sometimes use force to assault their relatives and damage personal property.
The report further reveals that under the previous government, hundreds of policewomen faced sexual harassment and assault, including rape by male supervisors and colleagues, who were never held accountable.
“Afghan policewomen have been doubly betrayed, first by the former Afghan government, which allowed serious sexual abuse against them to continue unchecked, and then by countries that ignored that abuse and have been unwilling to resettle or grant asylum to women seeking protection,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at HRW.
“Governments that funded and trained women in the Afghan police force should press the Taliban to end all abuses against women and girls,” she added.
It is not only the Taliban that mistreats former policewomen; many reported experiencing physical abuse from family members who consider their past work “shameful.”
HRW concludes its report by urging the Taliban to cease all harassment, threats, and abuse of former policewomen and other employees of the previous government, investigate cases of abuse, and hold those responsible accountable.
It also urged Western countries, particularly the US, UK, EU, and Canada to expand refugee resettlement opportunities for at-risk Afghan women in Afghanistan and those who have fled to neighbouring countries.
“Countries that supported programs to train and hire women in the Afghan police should support Afghan women seeking asylum and prioritize these women for refugee resettlement.”
HRW mentioned that it shared a summary of its findings with the Taliban authorities last month but has yet to receive a response.