Afghanistan: Taliban Repression Deepens

New Laws, Regulations Compound Abuses Against Women, Girls

(Bangkok) – Afghanistan’s human rights situation worsened in 2024 as the Taliban intensified their crackdown on women and girls and minority groups, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. The Taliban authorities detained journalists and critics and imposed severe restrictions on the media. Afghanistan’s economic crisis left 23 million in need of humanitarian assistance, disproportionally affecting women and girls.

For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground with their discriminatory rhetoric and policies.

“Three years into Taliban rule, the suppression of rights and freedoms has only intensified,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Governments should press the Taliban to end their abuses against women and girls, while urgently supporting the creation of a comprehensive United Nations accountability mechanism.”

• The Taliban announced a new law prohibiting women from traveling or using public transportation without a male guardian, and from singing in public or letting their voices be heard outside their home. The Taliban also detained women and girls for not abiding by the prescribed dress code.
• The Taliban arbitrarily detained and tortured journalists and other critics. In September, they banned live broadcasts of political programs, criticism of the group, and limited interviews to individuals from a preapproved list.
• The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), carried out attacks that injured and killed civilians, on ethnic and religious minorities, especially the Hazara, as well as on the Taliban. On May 18, ISKP issued a statement threatening nongovernmental organizations, the media, and foreign aid agencies.
• Afghanistan’s economic crisis left more than half of the population – 23.7 million people – in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in 2024, with 2.9 million at emergency levels of hunger.

Afghanistan’s donors should provide assistance aimed at reaching those most in need and crafting durable solutions to Afghanistan’s economic crisis, Human Rights Watch said.