Afghanistan Peace CampaignThis comes as the interim Afghan government has been globally criticized for its strict policies towards women and girls.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) urged the “de facto Taliban authorities to take all necessary steps to protect Afghan women and girls from gender-based violence, in line with their obligations under international human rights law to “respect, protect and fulfill women’s and girls’ rights to non-discrimination and to the enjoyment of de jure and de facto equality.”
UNAMA in a 24-page report stressed the “de facto authorities should confirm or clarify the applicable legal framework that prescribes and regulates the administration of justice regarding complaints of gender based violence against Afghan women and girls.”
According to the report, between 15 August 2021 and 15 July 2022, UNAMA observed that the “de facto authorities’ handling of complaints/cases12 of gender-based violence against women and girls was unclear and inconsistent.”
“With a view to understanding how the Taliban de facto justice system handled and addressed these complaints,” the report said.
The report said that the “de facto authorities” shared that they use Sharia law to process and adjudicate complaints of gender-based violence against women and girls, as well as the laws of the former Government, with Sharia law taking precedence in cases of conflict with the laws of the former Government.
“A de facto official of the now repurposed Attorney General’s Office in the Northern Region stated, however, that punishments for [gender based] violence against women crimes under Sharia law [compared to the laws of the former Government] are much lower,” the report reads.
However, the report said it is unknown how Sharia law under the “de facto authorities interprets gender-based violence against women and girls and the related sanctions and remedies.”
This comes as the interim Afghan government has been globally criticized for its strict policies towards women and girls.
“The activities of national and international organizations could be effective when they are able to create a space for negotiations between the Afghan society and the institutions of the ruling government such as the Vice and Virtue Ministry, police and intelligence,” said Palwasha Paiwandi, a political analyst.
But the Islamic Emirate pledged that all cases will be addressed without discrimination in Afghanistan.
“The voices of men and women are heard equally. If there is a legal issue, the legal institutions will take actions in this regard. If it belongs to the judicial system, the judicial institutions are opened for the people including men and women. There is no such problem that men would have access but not women,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate spokesman.