Afghanistan Peace CampaignThe court charged two Taliban leaders with committing crimes against humanity. A spokesman for the group said it did not recognize the court’s authority
The Taliban, a group that espouses an extremist version of Islam, has imposed increasingly severe restrictions on women since taking power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Within weeks of toppling the U.S.-backed previous regime, the Taliban abolished the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and banned women from receiving a secondary education or attaining most jobs. The group also imposed a rule barring women from traveling outside without a male chaperone.
“We do not recognize any entity under the title of the ‘International Court,’ nor do we acknowledge any obligation toward it,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a social media post Tuesday. “The leadership and officials of the Islamic Emirate have established unparalleled justice in Afghanistan based on the sacred laws of Islamic sharia. Labeling the laws of Islamic sharia as oppressive or against humanity … is a clear expression of enmity and hatred toward the pure religion of Islam and its legal system.”
Afghanistan has the second-worst gender gap in the world, according to a report released last month by the UN that cited major gender disparities in areas relating to heath, education and financial inclusion.
Afghan women have also faced soaring rates of domestic and sexual violence, including at the hands of the Taliban. Women detained by the Taliban have reported being raped and tortured in prison.
The 125 nations party to the International Criminal Court are bound by law to detain the Taliban leaders if they set foot on their soil, though the likelihood of an arrest remains slim. Akhundzada and Haqqani could simply refrain from traveling to countries that recognize the Court’s authority or avoid leaving Afghanistan entirely.
The case is “the first international criminal proceedings involving targeting of LGBTQI+ individuals, individuals who do not conform to the gender expectations of an autocratic regime,” said Beth Van Schaack, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice during the Biden administration. “It’s a huge step from the perspective of international criminal justice, in terms of opening up a line of prosecution and potentially creating a really important precedent.”
Afghanistan’s Taliban government remains isolated from much of the world, which has yet to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate ruling power in the country. Russia became the first country to diplomatically recognize the regime on Thursday.
Though the specific contents of the warrants remain sealed, the proceedings likely draw on the work of newsrooms and civil society groups who collected testimony from women in Afghanistan. Many of these organizations, including Zan Times, have been hit hard by the Trump administration’s funding cuts. The White House is looking to further reduce financial support for war crimes investigations, Reuters reported last month.
We work with journalists on the ground to be “able to bring those violations to the light,” Nader said. “However, with lack of funding, that work has become much more difficult for us to do. They’re creating a perfect situation for the Taliban to commit crime.”