Afghan girls detained and lashed by Taliban for violating hijab rules

Zuhal Ahad

Girls as young as 16 have been arrested across the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the past week for violating the Taliban’s hijab rules.

The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” and wearing makeup.

Since taking power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have further restricted women’s access to education, employment and public spaces. In May 2022, they decreed that women should cover themselves from head to toe, revealing only their eyes.

Lale*, 16, said she was arrested by the Taliban along with a number of other girls at her English language class and pulled into a police truck. She said girls who confronted the men and refused to go were beaten, while she was lashed on her feet and legs when trying to reason with them. Her father was later badly beaten for “raising immoral girls”.

“My attire was modest and even included a face mask – a precaution I had adopted since the Taliban takeover,” said Lale. “But they beat me anyway, insisting that my outfit was improper.”

Lale, who was detained for two days and nights, said the Taliban repeatedly cursed them as infidels, for studying English and for aspiring to go abroad.

She was released after community elders intervened and she signed a document pledging not to leave her home without the mandatory head-covering. She has also been banned from attending her English classes.

“I was barred from school when the Taliban took over in 2021, and now I cannot even go to my private classes,” she said. “I can no longer imagine anything for my future other than staying home and getting married.

“I saw how badly my father was beaten because I went to the [English] course. When I saw his photos after returning home, I was so scared that I would lose him. I don’t have the motivation to study after this. I don’t want this experience again.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, claimed in a voice message to the Guardian that families of the detained women had raised concerns with the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice that their daughters were supported by foreign groups to promote “bad hijab”.

“As a result, they were taken to police stations and freed on bail,” he said, adding that such arrests were “not usual practice”.

The detentions happened less than a week after the UN security council requested a special envoy to engage with the Taliban, particularly over gender and women’s rights. The Taliban rejected this proposal, however, claiming it would complicate the situation by imposing external solutions.

Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at the New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch, said: “The arrests of women in Afghanistan are a further crackdown on the basic rights of women and can be intimidating and put more pressure even on women who are still working in the health, primary education and nutrition sectors, and they would not appear in public as they used to.”

Videos and photographs shared with the Guardian by another female Afghan activist, who asked not to disclose her identity, show a number of men and women demonstrating in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, with placards inviting people to a “beautiful life” by “promoting and observing proper hijab”.

The activist, who witnessed the demonstrations, explained that these were families of detainees seeking the release of the women and aiming to prevent further arrests in the community.

Name has been changed to protect her identity

Afghan girls detained and lashed by Taliban for violating hijab rules
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Blasts Hit Kabul, Balkh Leaving Several Killed

Meanwhile, sources in Mazar-e-Sharif said that an explosion took place this afternoon (Thursday) in the city.

At least two civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in a grenade blast in PD 18 of Kabul today, a spokesman for the Kabul security department, Khalid Zadran said.

He said that an investigation is underway to arrest the perpetrator.

Kabul-based Emergency NGO– a humanitarian health organization- said that “the number of patients that our Surgical Centre received following “the explosion in Kabul PD18 has risen to 13, including 6 women, 4 men, a 17-year-old boy and 2 children.”

Meanwhile, sources in Mazar-e-Sharif said that an explosion took place this afternoon (Thursday) in the city.

The explosion took place around 3:00 PM in PD4 of Mazar-e-Sharif, sources said.

So far, there are no details about possible casualties or the cause of this explosion, and local officials have not yet made comments on it.

No one has claimed responsibility for either of the blasts.

Blasts Hit Kabul, Balkh Leaving Several Killed
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Reopening of UK Embassy in Kabul is Under Review: UK Official

Some political analysts said that it is necessary for the Islamic Emirate to give in to some of the demands of the international community.

Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said the government will keep “very much under review” calls to reopen the UK embassy in Afghanistan, but the security and political situation does not currently allow them to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul.

Mitchell said that the policy of the Islamic Emirate’s change of approach towards women and ethnic minorities, the release of British hostages, and Afghanistan not turning into terrorist bases again have been mentioned as fundamental conditions of the UK against the Islamic Emirate.

Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: “And rights be rolled back elsewhere to minority groups such as the Hazara people faced discrimination and attacks. The position of the UK … is that the UN security resolutions have consistently set out the basic expectations of the Taliban, this include preserving the rights of women and minorities and ensuring Afghanistan will no longer be used as a base for terrorist activities. Senior officials speak regularly to the Taliban including, to secure the release of four British national detainees last October. Officials also visit Kabul if situation permits including a visit last month for the British chargé d’affaires to Kabul where he met a wide range of senior Taliban’s figures. Regardless of complexities of relationship that the UK government has helped lead the way in securing the Afghan people. And in respect to his plea about the embassy, we will note what he has said, and keep that very much under review.”

Some political analysts said that it is necessary for the Islamic Emirate to give in to some of the demands of the international community.

“The Islamic Emirate must eliminate the small and big excuses that regional countries and superpowers like Britain have,” Abdul Matin Naseri, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

Earlier, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, said he met with the current Afghan government, in a meeting with Robert Chatterton Dickson, the ad interim chargé d’affaires of the UK mission in Afghanistan.

Reopening of UK Embassy in Kabul is Under Review: UK Official
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UN ‘concerned’ Taliban detaining Afghan women for dress code violations

Al Jazeera

In a statement on Thursday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had “documented a series of hijab decree enforcement campaigns” taking place since January 1 in Kabul and Daykundi provinces.

These were under orders from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the police, it said, and women had been “warned” and “detained”.

To secure a woman’s release from detention, UNAMA said her male guardian, also called a mahram, was required to sign a letter guaranteeing her future compliance or else face punishment.

The mission said it was looking into claims of ill-treatment of the women and extortion in exchange for their release, and warned that physical violence and detentions were demeaning and dangerous.

Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed numerous restrictions on women and girls, with laws the UN has labelled “gender apartheid”.

“Enforcement measures involving physical violence are especially demeaning and dangerous for Afghan women and girls,” said Roza Otunbayeva, UN special envoy and head of the mission.

“Detentions carry an enormous stigma that puts Afghan women at even greater risk,” she said. “They also destroy public trust.”

‘Pushing women into even greater isolation’

The Taliban said last week that female police officers have been taking women into custody for wearing “bad hijab.”

When the Taliban retook power in 2021, they ordered women to cover up when leaving home, stopped girls and women from attending high school or university, and banned them from parks, gyms and public baths.

They also barred them from working for the UN or NGOs, and most female government employees were dismissed from their jobs or paid to stay at home.

The UN mission’s statement said it “fears the current crackdown is pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrest, and creating a permissive environment for men to enforce repressive measures at home”.

The Taliban chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the UN preoccupation with Afghan women was unwarranted, and dismissed its concerns.

“Afghan women wear hijab of their own accord,” he said on X. “They don’t need to be forced. The Vice and Virtue Ministry hasn’t forced anyone [to wear hijab] either.”

In May 2022, the Taliban issued a decree calling for women to only show their eyes and recommending they wear the head-to-toe burqa, similar to restrictions during their previous rule of the country between 1996 and 2001.

A spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry, Abdul Ghafar Farooq, earlier on Thursday rejected reports that women and girls were being arrested or beaten for wearing “bad hijab” and called it propaganda from the foreign media.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
UN ‘concerned’ Taliban detaining Afghan women for dress code violations
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Taliban detains dozens of women in Afghanistan for breaking hijab rules with “modeling”

 

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have rounded up dozens of women in an apparent crackdown on perceived violations of the group’s strict dress code. Dozens of women and girls were detained briefly last week in Kabul, a senior Taliban spokesperson told CBS News on Monday, confirming what appeared to be a new tactic in the group’s efforts to curb women’s rights.

The arrests by the Taliban’s morality police occurred over several days and first came to light via videos and photos posted on social media. The Taliban confirmed the arrests after photos and video clips showed women being loaded onto the back of police pickup trucks in the capital city.

A spokesperson for the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry, which enforces its harsh interpretation of Islam on both men and women, told CBS News the women were all either released on bail after several hours, or turned over to judicial authorities for further investigation. It was not clear how many people remained in custody after the mass arrests.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban regime’s chief spokesperson, confirmed the arrests to CBS News on Monday, saying “a group of women who were involved in modeling to promote clothes were detained, advised in front of their family members, and released within hours. No woman was subject to imprisonment during this process.”

In an interview with Afghan outlet TOLO News, which was later removed from the social media platform X, Mujahid, without providing evidence, said the women had received instruction from outside the country to promote violations of the group’s rules requiring women and girls to wear the hijab, or headscarf, to cover their hair.

In a video published by the Afghanistan International news outlet, a young girl is seen in tears speaking about the Taliban detaining her sister as they both returned from their religious school in Kabul.AD MOREFlooding, heavy winds hit the Northeast, tornadoes leavedamage across Florida panhandle

“The Taliban took my sister. We wore hijab and were holding the Quran in our hands. How do I explain this to my father?” the girl can be heard saying in the video, which was not independently verified by CBS News.

There were more arrests reported Monday. CBS News spoke with a sibling of a young woman whom they said was detained Monday morning and remained in Taliban custody late on Tuesday.

The person said that after several hours of searching, the family found the woman at a local police station late Tuesday evening, where Taliban officials demanded money, along with her passport and other documentation, as a penalty and “to guarantee that she will not violate the dress code in the future.”

The family member said the authorities told the family they would “take her biometrics and photos, and if she violates the dress code in the future, she will be imprisoned for a longer period.”

On Wednesday, the family told CBS News they paid the equivalent of about $2,200, which they had to borrow from relatives and friends, to secure the woman’s release. They sent CBS News photos showing bruises they said the woman sustained when she was beaten by authorities in custody.

In addition, they said Taliban officials made them hand over their home ownership documents and that the woman’s father and brother had to sign “a document stating that she would not go out without a male chaperon and hijab.”

The family said they were warned that if the woman was found violating the dress code again, “she will be imprisoned without legal representation and according to Islamic law.”

The United Nations special envoy for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, called for the immediate release of all the women who were detained.

“Recent arrests of women in Kabul Afghanistan for ‘bad hijab’, confirmed by the Taliban, regrettably signified further restrictions on women’s freedom of expression and undermines other rights,” Bennett said in a social media post. “They should all be released immediately and without conditions.”

Amid the criticism and media coverage, the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue issued a statement on suggesting the women and girls had been picked up for begging on Kabul’s streets and noting that they would be released after their biometrics were taken, though no supporting evidence was provided to back the new explanation for the detentions.

Since retaking control of Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021, the Taliban has reintroduced many draconian rules limiting the public lives of women and girls in the country.

Girls are not permitted to attend school after the age of 12 and women are barred from universities. They’re also banned from visiting parks, participating in sports, working in many sectors — including for international non-profit organizations — forbidden from running beauty salons or visiting public baths, and even from traveling outside their homes without a male chaperon.

“They have expedited their war against women,” Fawzia Koofi, a former female member of Afghanistan’s parliament, said in a social media post in reaction to the recent arrests. “On a daily basis, their morality police arrests tens of women from the streets of Kabul. To the Taliban, every woman in Afghanistan is guilty to be proven innocent.”

Torek Farhadi, a veteran political analyst on the region, told CBS News the Taliban’s rigid enforcement of its rules set Afghanistan apart from even other conservative Islamic ruled nations.

“The Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic sharia [law] is again off the mark from what is in practice in other Islamic countries, just as is their decision on girls’ education, barring them from going to school,” he said, adding: “Now that they have the guns, they can impose their views on society.”

When the Taliban first ruled over Afghanistan between 1994 and the 2001 U.S.-led military invasion, the group routinely arrested men and boys for shaving or trimming their beards, or for wearing jeans or other Western garments, and jailed them for days.

Analysts including Farhadi told CBS News that the Taliban’s direct law enforcement intervention against women for alleged dress code violations, rather than punishing male relatives or guardians, appeared to be a new tactic and an escalation of the crackdown on women’s rights.

Taliban detains dozens of women in Afghanistan for breaking hijab rules with “modeling”
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Iran Deports Nearly 900 Afghan Minors in 2 Months: Nimroz Official

Local officials in Nimroz province said that they are trying to find ways to return these minors to their homes.

Nearly 900 Afghan minors have been deported from Iran to Nimroz province in Afghanistan in the last two months, a local official in Nimroz said.

Sediqullah, 14, is one of hundreds of children who have been deported by Iranian security forces but whose families remain in Iran

He is striving to find a way to join his family again.

“My two brothers and parents are still in Iran, I have been arrested and repatriated,” said Sediqullah, an Afghan returnee.

“We ask the Afghan government to give us money so that we can go to our homes,” said another returnee, Muhammad.

“There was a problem in my family, to solve that, I decided to work to earn money,” said Edrees, an Afghan returnee.

Local officials in Nimroz province said that they are trying to find ways to return these minors to their homes.

“The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has signed several MoUs with different organizations to return these children to their homes,” said Muhammad Omar Zubair, head of the directorate of Labor and Social Affairs in Nimroz province.

It comes as the repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran has recently increased.

Iran Deports Nearly 900 Afghan Minors in 2 Months: Nimroz Official
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Islamic Emirate Calls UNSC Decisions on Afghanistan ‘Unilateral’

The statement reads that according to reports of the head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, 50 decrees have been issued regarding women.

The Islamic Emirate said the decisions of the UN Security Council regarding Afghanistan are “unilateral.”

The spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that this organization has not carefully assessed the issues of Afghanistan in its statements and resolutions.

“This is something that does not take into consideration the realities of Afghanistan. Sometimes when they issued a statement or a resolution, they did not carefully assess the issues of Afghanistan, and especially did not ask about the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and did not share their views,” Mujahid said.

This comes as the UN reported on the holding of meetings of the UNSC last year, saying it has approved various resolutions regarding Afghanistan, Palestine and Ukraine.

“The Security Council unanimously adopted two resolutions concerning Afghanistan on 16 March.  By the terms of resolution 2678 (2023), the Council decided to extend UNAMA’s mandate until 17 March 2024 and called upon all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders to coordinate with the Mission in the implementation of its mandate and to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of UN and associated personnel throughout the country.  By the terms of resolution 2679 (2023), the Council requested the Secretary-General to conduct and provide, no later than 17 November, an independent assessment, after consultations with all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders, as well as the region and the wider international community. Such assessment should include forward-looking recommendations to address the current challenges faced by Afghanistan.

As the year came to an end, on 29 December, the Council adopted resolution 2721 (2023), with 13 votes in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (China, Russian Federation).  By the terms of the text, the 15-nation organ requested the Secretary-General appoint a Special Envoy for Afghanistan, provided with robust expertise on human rights and gender.  Also requesting that Council members consider the independent assessment on that country, it affirmed that the objective of this process should be an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours, fully reintegrated into the international community.  In addition, the Council also recognized the need to ensure the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of Afghan women in the process throughout,” the report reads.

“Since UNAMA is an investigative and humanitarian aid agency in Afghanistan, the extension of their work is necessary for Afghanistan, and this agency should be in Afghanistan so that Afghanistan is not deprived of humanitarian aid,” Bilal Fatemi, an international relations analyst, told TOLOnews.

“The government should accept those demands of the world that are not against our beliefs, so that the world interacts with them and we will get rid of these problems,” Hamidullah Hotaki, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

The statement reads that according to reports of the head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, 50 decrees have been issued regarding women.

“Briefing the Council on 26 September, Ms. Otunbayeva reported that more than 50 decrees issued by the Taliban aimed at eliminating women from public life and education. The Mission’s view was to maintain dialogue, to attempt to help change such policies. Ms. Bahous of UN-Women said restrictions were being enforced more frequently and with more severity, including by male family members, and accompanied by increases in child marriage and in child labour. She also reported that Afghan women continued to call on international actors to use all means at their disposal to pressure for change, including sanctions without exceptions for travel, and the issue of non-recognition,” the report reads.

Islamic Emirate Calls UNSC Decisions on Afghanistan ‘Unilateral’
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Ministry: Air Arabia Resumes Flights to Kabul

Some businessmen praised this move but added that it was also necessary to resolve the issue of businessmen’s visas to Arab nations.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) said that airline Air Arabia has resumed flights to Kabul after two and half years of suspension, and the first flight took place today (Wednesday).

MoTCA said on X that the flights of this company will be carried out routinely once a day between Sharjah and Kabul.
“Today, Air Arabia started its flights to Kabul Airport, and it will make its flights between Kabul and Sharjah every day,” the ministry’s spokesman, Imamuddin Ahmadi told TOLOnews.

Some businessmen praised this move but added that it was also necessary to resolve the issue of businessmen’s visas to Arab nations.

“Regardless of the visa issue, there are still many problems. We hope the United Arab Emirates government will facilitate visas for Afghans in order to increase investment in both the Afghan market and the international markets of the UAE,” said Mahbobullah Mohammadi, a businessman.

According to some economists, the resumption of flights of international companies will be effective for economic growth.

“It is a positive step, especially in connecting domestic and foreign passengers to Afghanistan, as well as various private and foreign institutions, and in increasing the aviation company’s revenue,” Seyar Qureshi, an economist told TOLOnews.

“Among the other benefits this move can bring is attracting foreign investment and more tourists; ultimately it will cause economic growth in Afghanistan,” Shaker Yaqoobi, another economist told TOLOnews.

This comes as on November 15, 2023, Flydubai resumed its flights to Kabul and is operating two daily flights from Kabul to Dubai.

Ministry: Air Arabia Resumes Flights to Kabul
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No Specific Control to Ensure Swiss-Based Fund Not Misused’: SIGAR

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its newly released report that there are currently no specific controls in place to ensure funds are not diverted to or misused by the Taliban.

John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, wrote the above in response to the US chairman House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael T. McCaul who requested information about the oversight and management mechanisms of the fund for the Afghan People (the Afghan Fund, or Fund) on March 13, 2023.

SIGAR cited the US Treasury and State Departments who said, “The Taliban are not part of the Afghan Fund, and robust safeguards have been put in place to prevent [Fund monies] from being used for illicit activity.”

SIGAR, however, said “the fund’s articles of association do not explicitly refer to the Taliban, and there are currently no specific controls in place to ensure funds are not diverted to or misused by the Taliban.” “Additionally, notwithstanding its previous claim that the fund already had robust safeguards in place, Treasury reported that a compliance program to prevent funds from being provided to sanctioned or criminal individuals, including members of the Taliban, was under development,” it said.

According to SIGAR, since its establishment, the fund has made no disbursements for activities intended to benefit the Afghan people.

“Treasury and State are not currently willing to support a return of funds to DAB [Da Afghanistan Bank],” the report said.

Sopko also wrote that the “State was unaware that one of the individuals it selected to be a fiduciary of DAB’s assets was fired from a previous position for misrepresenting his credentials, raising questions about the adequacy of State’s vetting process.”

This comes as the Ministry of Economy stressed that the Afghan assets abroad should be released and that the money in the Afghan Trust Fund belongs to the people of Afghanistan.

“The money within the Afghanistan Trust Fund in Switzerland is the legitimate property of the people of Afghanistan and it is also part of the assets of our country. So we demand that the frozen assets be released, thus both the people of Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate will have control over this money,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy.

Economists Seyar Qureshi meanwhile said that the issue of the Afghan assets abroad has become politicized.

“I think some of the statements made by these organizations have a political side. This money should not be allocated for expenses and other purposes,” he said.

The Afghan Fund is a Swiss-based charitable foundation capitalized with $3.5 billion of the approximately $7 billion of Afghan central bank (Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB) assets deposited in U.S. financial institutions at the time the Afghan government collapsed in August 2021.

No Specific Control to Ensure Swiss-Based Fund Not Misused’: SIGAR
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Four Killed in Nangarhar grenade attack

Khaama News

On Sunday night, in Hasark district, Nangarhar province, a hand grenade attack wounded the head of education and killed his four daughters, as confirmed by officials on Monday.

The incident occurred on Sunday night when unidentified individuals hurled a grenade at Ghulam Jilani Hanafi’s residence, leaving his wife injured as well.

Farhad Ahmed Stanikzai, spokesperson for the Nangarhar Education Department, confirmed the attack but highlighted that the motive behind it remains unclear, with no claims of responsibility from any individual or group.

This incident marks a disturbing trend as officials reveal that Hanafi’s house had previously been targeted in attacks, although, there were no casualties on those occasions.

The district of Hasark is left in shock and mourning over the senseless act of violence that has killed people and left the head of education severely wounded.

Authorities are actively investigating the attack, striving to shed light on the motives and bring those responsible for this tragic incident to justice.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, security has become their foremost concern. There has been a significant increase in targeted killings, particularly in Kabul city, which has raised serious concerns about the overall stability and safety in various provinces throughout the country.

The rise in violence underscores the ongoing challenges the Taliban faces in establishing control and maintaining peace within Afghanistan.

Four Killed in Nangarhar grenade attack
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