UNESCO: 75% of Afghan Girls Denied Education, Facing Bleak Future

UNESCO in a report said that girls in Afghanistan and some African countries are facing significant educational setbacks.

UNESCO, in its report, has stated that Afghanistan is among the ten countries where the majority of girls are deprived of going to schools and 75% of them are deprived of education.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has published a report stating that girls in Afghanistan and some African countries are facing significant educational setbacks.

“Among these ten countries, nine from Africa and Afghanistan have the highest rate of girls’ lack of access to schools. Afghanistan ranks tenth in this list. At least 50% of girls cannot go to school, and in Afghanistan, 75% of girls do not have the opportunity to attend school.” Reads part of the report.

“If the Islamic Emirate does not allow our sisters to go to school this year as well, we will face a very difficult year ahead and the future of Afghanistan will be dark and in ignorance,” said Zakiullah Muhammadi, a university professor.

Zahra and Maryam, who are eighth-grade students, have turned to painting since the schools’ doors have been closed to girls from the sixth grade onwards.

They say that art can never replace education and the doors of schools must be reopened for girls.

“Education has its value, I want our school to start again so we can return to our lessons,” said Zahra

“I should have been in the eleventh grade by now, but since the schools were closed, I am still in the eighth grade,” said Maryam.

Meanwhile, several other students also request the caretaker government to facilitate their return to schools in the educational year 1403.

“My request from the Islamic Emirate is to open the doors of schools for girls above sixth grade in the solar year 1403, so we can enjoy our rights,” said Rabia, student.

“The schools for girls should be opened as soon as possible so we can continue our education like boys,” said Sana, another student.

Despite it being more than nine hundred days since the closure of schools for girls above the sixth grade and less than ten days left until the start of the new educational year, the caretaker government has not said anything about reopening the schools for these girls.

UNESCO: 75% of Afghan Girls Denied Education, Facing Bleak Future
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Muttaqi: Foreign Ministry Has 38 Offices Abroad

Speaking about the opposition, Muttaqi said that the world does not support the opponents of the Islamic Emirate. 

The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, at a gathering said that currently around 38 embassies and political agencies of the Islamic Emirate are active in various countries.

Emphasizing the importance of good relations with the world, Amir Khan Muttaqi asked countries to interact with the Islamic Emirate.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 38 political agencies and embassies in various countries of the world, and there are no complaints about corruption or delay in providing services from them,” Muttaqi said.

Muttaqi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 38 representative offices and embassies in various countries of the world, and there are no complaints about corruption or delays with them.

Speaking about the opposition, Muttaqi said that the world does not support the opponents of the Islamic Emirate.

“I am happy today that no power in the world wants to strengthen the opponents, and this is good news for Afghanistan. I am happy that none of the opponents are expelled from Afghanistan and everyone can come and live in the country,” he said.

This senior official of the Islamic Emirate also mentioned the importance of education in the country and that the current caretaker government has a serious need for religious and modern education and currently young people are educated in both sectors.

“The current Afghan government is Islamic and not a secular system, and modern and religious education is needed in the Islamic system,” the acting Foreign Minister stated.

Two years since their return, no country of the world has recognized the Islamic Emirate.

Muttaqi: Foreign Ministry Has 38 Offices Abroad
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Iran expels over two thousand Afghan migrants

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations has recently announced that over two thousand Afghan migrants returned to the country after being expelled from Iran.

On Monday, the ministry stated in a newsletter that approximately 2,103 Afghan migrants residing in Iran returned to the country after being expelled again.

The ministry’s newsletter mentioned that these migrants entered the country through the Islam Qala border in Herat province after being expelled.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations has clarified that the return of migrants was both voluntary and forced.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations reports the return of migrants from Iran at a time when both Iran and Pakistan have imposed strict restrictions on Afghan citizens.

Meanwhile, Pakistan forcibly deported over 200 Afghan migrants from the country just yesterday.

Pakistan and Iran consistently cite a lack of residency documents as the primary reason for expelling migrants from their countries.

Amidst the ongoing dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran face severe challenges.

Many fled their homeland seeking safety and refuge but now find themselves living in precarious conditions, often without proper documentation or access to basic services. Discrimination and limited economic opportunities exacerbate their plight, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

The forced deportation of Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan amid harsh winter conditions further compounds their suffering. Returning to a country grappling with conflict, economic instability, and humanitarian crises, these individuals are thrust into a situation of heightened vulnerability.

The lack of adequate shelter, food, and healthcare resources exacerbates their already dire circumstances, raising concerns about their safety and well-being.

Iran expels over two thousand Afghan migrants
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Internal Disagreement Cause of UN’s Ineffectiveness in Afghanistan: Faiq

Naseer Ahmad Faiq told TOLOnews if there is no coordination among the members of the UN, the functions of the organization will be in trouble.

Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN said that disagreement among the members of the UN regarding Afghanistan and the lack of a coherent political view have caused the efforts of this organization to be unsuccessful.

“Until the member countries provide the necessary cooperation and support to the mission and activities of the UN, unfortunately, the functioning of the UN will face problems, the same is the case with the issue of Afghanistan,” he added.

The United Nations has held three meetings on Afghanistan in less than one month, the Doha meeting on Afghanistan on February 18 and 19 and two meetings of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan on February 26 and March 6.

“Russia and China also called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan; just on the human rights issue, Russia and China don’t want themselves to be asked, they consider human rights an internal issue,” said Tariq Farhadi, an international relations analyst.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate said that without the presence of the caretaker government, no international meeting on Afghanistan will be bear results.

“The fact that the meetings ended without result is because Afghanistan did not play a role in these meetings and is not present at the meetings to guide their main direction, these meetings will not have any practical result,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres invited civil society activists and the Islamic Emirate to the second meeting in Doha on Afghanistan, but the Islamic Emirate did not participate because its conditions were not met.

Internal Disagreement Cause of UN’s Ineffectiveness in Afghanistan: Faiq
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Islamic Emirate Rejects US Gen. Kurilla’s Remarks on TTP

The deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Hamdullah Fitrat, told TOLOnews that no one has permission to act against other countries from Afghanistan. 

The Islamic Emirate rejected the recent remarks of US Centcom commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla about the unwillingness of the “Taliban” to act against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Hamdullah Fitrat, told TOLOnews that no one has permission to act against other countries from Afghanistan.

“The Islamic Emirate has full domination and control in Afghanistan and no group is allowed to have activities and threaten other countries from Afghanistan,” he said.

Earlier, the Express Tribune reported that Michael Erik Kurilla speaking to the US Senate Arms Services Committee voiced the unwillingness of the “Taliban” to curb the militant groups, including the TTP, in Afghanistan.

According to the report, the chief of Centcom claimed that the safe havens of the extremist groups in Afghanistan will increase the conflict in the region. The inability or unwillingness of the “Afghan Taliban” to contain them can destabilize Central and South Asia, the report reads.

“The Centcom chief said that the presence of safe havens in Afghanistan were increasing the risk of violent extremist organizations (VEOs) inciting regional conflict,” the report said.

The chief of Centcom was also quoted in the report as saying: “The Taliban’s inability, or unwillingness, to rein in VEOs could destabilize Central and South Asia.”

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan must start working as soon as possible and hold meetings with the countries that are concerned about the presence of groups in Afghanistan,” said Sadiq Shinwari, a military analyst.

“Pakistan in this way wants to form a pretext for the interference of the world in Afghanistan,” said Sarwar Niazim, a political analyst.

The Pakistan Army yesterday in a statement expressed concerns over the use of Afghan soil against Pakistan which was again dismissed as unfounded by the Islamic Emirate.

Islamic Emirate Rejects US Gen. Kurilla’s Remarks on TTP
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‘60,000’ Ancient Artifacts at National Museum: Officials

On International Day for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the National Museum houses over sixty thousand artifacts from various decades.

Atiqullah Azizi, the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, during a ceremony marking the day, stated that in the past year, they have successfully discovered and transferred hundreds of ancient and cultural artifacts from different provinces to the National Museum.

“According to the data, there are more than sixty thousand artifacts in the National Museum of Afghanistan,” he said.

Sibghatullah Abed, the director of the National Museum, said that some individuals and countries have strived for years to destroy the country’s culture and ancient artifacts.

According to Sibghatullah Abid, they are endeavoring to keep Afghan culture alive and protect it.

“Our enemies have tried hard to bury and destroy our culture and history. To combat this, we must all strive to ensure that our country’s culture does not disappear,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hayatullah Mahajer Farahi, the Deputy Minister of Publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said that the leader of the Islamic Emirate has ordered measures to prevent the trafficking and sale of ancient and cultural artifacts in the country.

“We do not allow anyone to destroy and smuggle our historical artifacts as in the past,” said Hayatullah Mahajer Farahi.

“The Ministry of Information and Culture has had very good achievements in all sectors. Any country that loses its culture will be destroyed,” said Wali Gul Jawad, the Cultural Head of Kabul Municipality.

According to officials of the Ministry of Information and Culture, in the past year, fourteen hundred sites have been discovered in more than ten provinces by the Department of Archeology and Artifact Recognition of this Ministry.

The ministry said that a draft law on cultural heritage has been prepared by the ministry and sent for approval to the leader of the Islamic Emirate.

‘60,000’ Ancient Artifacts at National Museum: Officials
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Islamic Emirate: Disagreement Exists in US Over Afghan Policy

In a statement published by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul urged President Joe Biden not to encourage anyone to engage with the “Taliban.”

The Islamic Emirate, referencing remarks by the chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and the US Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan about interaction with the interim government, said that these statements stem from a difference of opinion among US officials regarding Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, stated that good relations between Kabul and Washington are in the interest of both countries.

“In America, there is a difference of opinion or disagreement about Afghanistan. Michael (McCaul) may be one of those who supported the war in Afghanistan. After America’s disgraceful defeat, they might have been affected and now want to express hostility and animosity towards all of Afghanistan and its people; but this is not the solution.”

Michael McCaul, the chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, reacted to recent statements by Karen Decker, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy for Afghanistan, about supporting Afghans’ “political roadmap and engagement with the Taliban,” saying that any suggestion of engaging with the “Taliban” is a slap in the face to the people of Afghanistan.

In a statement published by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul urged President Joe Biden not to encourage anyone to engage with the “Taliban.”

“Suggesting any form of engagement with the Taliban is a slap in the face to the Afghan people who are victims of the Taliban regime. The administration should not encourage engagement with the Taliban under any circumstances,” the statement reads.

“They want to change the atmosphere and use pressure as a means to achieve their own benefits. If they get a positive response, they say there is a good path and an opening; if not, it means there’s a negative opening as well,” Aziz Maarij, a political analyst, said.

However, some political analysts said that the dichotomy in America’s foreign policy towards the caretaker government is influenced by the 2024 elections in the country.

“Differences emerge for them at critical times, especially during various elections they have, the most important being the presidential election,” said Sayed Hashem Balkhabi, a political analyst.

Previously, the US Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan stated that Afghan civil society in Istanbul supports the reintegration process of Afghanistan led by the United Nations and a political roadmap for engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Islamic Emirate: Disagreement Exists in US Over Afghan Policy
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Rina Amiri Urges Islamic Emirate to Change Policies Toward Women

The Islamic Emirate said that good opportunities have been provided in the trade sector for women and it supports their achievements in Afghanistan.

Rina Amiri, United States Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights, said that Afghanistan loses over one billion dollars annually due to the caretaker government’s policies toward women and girls in Afghanistan.

Rina Amiri wrote on X that the ban on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan harms all Afghans in the country and that to mitigate this damage, policies toward women and girls need to change.

“Afghanistan is losing more than $1B annually due to the Taliban’s extreme decrees against women and girls. The edicts prohibit Afghan women and girls’ education and employment are hurting all Afghans. To lift Afghanistan out of aid dependency and poverty, these policies must be reversed,” she said on X.

“We should be given the right to work, and we demand the government to grant all women the right to education and work. How long can we stay at home? Many women like me are the sole breadwinners for their families, so we need to work,” said Fauzia, an unemployed woman.

The United Nations Women’s Department said in a statement that excluding women from decision-making deprives Afghanistan of opportunities to emerge from the crisis.

“Excluding Afghan women from decision-making not only deprives Afghanistan of any chance of emerging out of crises, it also signals that attacking women’s rights, silencing their voices and erasing them from society doesn’t just get unpunished, it becomes normalized,” said UN Women on X.

“I ask the government and the international community to assist women in other sectors because women make up the largest segment of society, and if good work opportunities are provided for them, they have great potential,” Shabnam, a student, told TOLOnews.

The Islamic Emirate said that good opportunities have been provided in the trade sector for women and it supports their achievements in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said that the frozen Afghan funds in the US directly impact the lives of women and men in the country, hence the need for the US to understand its responsibility in this regard.

“If America is so concerned about the Afghan people, it should first and foremost release the frozen Afghan funds. Approximately 9.1 billion dollars frozen in America directly negatively impacts the lives of the Afghan people; it affects both our sisters and men. Anyway, they must understand their responsibility towards Afghanistan,” he said.

Previously, the United States special representatives has called on countries worldwide to continue supporting women and girls in Afghanistan.

Rina Amiri Urges Islamic Emirate to Change Policies Toward Women
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The Taliban once smashed TVs. Now it fosters YouTubers to promote its image.

The Washington Post
March 10, 2024

KABUL — The Taliban-run government is fostering a thriving community of YouTube influencers and video bloggers in Afghanistan, seeking to shape a positive narrative about the country by rewarding those who have welcome viewpoints with access to stories that can draw millions of views online.

The Taliban, which smashed televisions and burned films in the 1990s during its first stint in power, is now using modern video technology in its radical campaign to remake Afghanistan. The regime grants influencers coveted broadcasting licenses that put them on an equal footing with TV networks and radio stations, and threatens to withdraw the licenses of those who break official rules. Influencers whose work is seen as benefiting the regime have been allowed to embed with government ministries and showcase their achievements.

Meanwhile, videos that are critical of the Taliban have largely disappeared from platforms such as YouTube over the past two years as a result of Taliban pressure and self-censorship, according to interviews with 10 content creators in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. The government has tightly restricted what can be said and worn in online appearances, and two influencers said they were detained and interrogated after running afoul of the Taliban’s rules.

Often, however, relations between influencers and the Taliban are mutually rewarding. The most successful influencers can earn thousands of dollars in foreign advertising revenue per video, say Afghan owners of YouTube channels, a striking figure in a country where a monthly salary of a few hundred dollars counts as good income. To bypass Afghanistan’s banking system, which is under international sanctions, some Afghan YouTubers have hired associates in the United States or Europe to receive payments and pass them on.

One of the top channels, “Our Afghanistan,” with over 350,000 YouTube subscribers, has focused on a widely known backer of the Taliban named General Mobin, often shown distributing donated winter clothing, talking to soldiers or visiting hospital patients. Some channels, such as “Dostdaran Kabul” with over 40,000 subscribers, focus almost entirely on urban development under the Taliban.

Others, such as Milad Azizi’s “Kabul Lovers,” mix scripted entertainment videos with content featuring Taliban officials. That approach has made “Kabul Lovers” one of the country’s most successful YouTube channels over the past two years. Azizi, 23, has hired about 20 employees and rents space in a high-rise building.

His channel recently drew more than 2.6 million views with a series in which his video team embedded with morality police from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue as they searched for what they said were suspected witches. In one of the videos, a woman being investigated for alleged sorcery looks anxiously into the camera. “Why are all you men here today?” she asks, apparently fearing arrest. She later confesses to investigators on camera that she practiced magic.

Asked for comment, the ministry confirmed past “connections” with Azizi’s channel “to educate the public.”

Although officials have decided against letting the team join possible future witch-hunting operations, Azizi said, other collaborations with the government are being planned. “It helps them a lot,” he said.

A large audience abroad

Camera salesman Mohammad Mujib Nabizada, 20, said he has seen so many influencers rise to fame after frequenting his store that he is considering launching a channel himself.

“When they start off, they usually only come here to buy cheap microphones,” he said. “But soon after, when the money starts pouring in, they return to buy the big cameras.”

Internet speeds and mobile data allowances remain limited in Afghanistan, so influencers here primarily target the estimated 6 million Afghans living abroad as migrants or refugees. (Most of the content is in Dari, the country’s most widely spoken language.) They account for about 90 percent of visitors to some of the most popular Afghanistan-based YouTube channels, with most views coming from the United States and Europe, content creators said. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid unwanted scrutiny from the government.

Afghans abroad are often eager to watch videos about how their country is changing under the Taliban. Kabul-based YouTuber Amir Mohammad Yaqobi, 24, said he gets the most views with videos about new roads and other construction. “It’s good for my channel,” he said.

More than 140,000 people watched a recent 38-minute video, on a channel called “Afghanistan Streets,” in which a presenter praises the quality of concrete in a tunnel construction project overseen by the government. “It will help the tunnel last forever,” the presenter says in the video.

In other clips, presenters accompany Taliban government officials as they burn expired food, crack down on drug dealers, or — in a video titled “An Afghan dream is coming true” — build a major canal across the north of the country.

Making sure viewers get the point, an Islamic scholar on a channel focusing on social issues called “Kabul Show,” with 80,000 subscribers, urged at a recent conference, “We should value our current government.”

Some Afghans in Kabul say they have begun getting calls from relatives abroad asking if the country is really on the rise under the Taliban, as YouTube content suggests.

Influencers who successfully navigate the Taliban’s rules may still run afoul of YouTube itself. The company said it had terminated a number of Afghan channels for posting “content that glorifies or promotes violent tragedies.” After operators reactivated several of these channels, including “Afghanistan Streets” and “Our Afghanistan,” YouTube again terminated them in recent days for violating the company’s terms of service, according to Jack Malon, a spokesman for Google, which owns YouTube.

Asked about the activities of YouTube channel owners in Afghanistan, Malon said, “YouTube is committed to compliance with all applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws, including U.S. sanctions against the Afghan Taliban. If we find an account believed to be owned and operated by the Afghan Taliban, we terminate it. Further, our policies prohibit content that incites violence.”

A tightening grip

Before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghan social media was on many days dominated by clips of the aftermath of bomb blasts and shootings. But for urban Afghans, it was also a space where they felt they could express themselves freely.

Afghan YouTube has changed dramatically since then. The Taliban-run government has banned music in videos and mandated that female presenters wear a headscarf and a mask over their mouth for modesty, several content creators said.

A 20-year-old female YouTuber in Kabul said she began publishing videos after the Taliban closed schools and universities for women. She primarily uses her channel to read poems or share recipes that are popular among her minority Shiite Muslim community, and she has largely flouted the Taliban’s rules on how to dress in videos, hoping officials will be unable to identify her.

But a growing number of viewers have responded angrily to her uploads or threatened to report her to the authorities. “I won’t stop,” she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of drawing the attention of officials. “I love doing this.”

There are signs the government intends to further tighten its grip on influencers who do not play by its rules. It has already blocked mobile internet access to TikTok, saying the platform wastes the time of young Afghans and raises moral concerns.

Although some Afghan video creators have used YouTube’s geo-blocking tools to hold back their most sensitive content inside Afghanistan, Afghan officials now appear to be using VPN to see what is being published outside the country, according to the owner of a major Afghan YouTube channel.

New warnings

Many YouTubers have in recent weeks received warnings over alleged violations or been asked by the government to cooperate with it more closely, several influencers said.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s spokesman, confirmed that warnings are being issued to all channels that “violate the rules,” and that serious violations can result in legal charges. YouTubers can work freely in the country, Mujahid said in a series of WhatsApp audio messages to The Post, but added: “If they only present the negative side, it doesn’t serve the country.” What serves the country better, he said, is a focus on “development, progress, unity, brotherhood and peace.”

“I wanted to serve my country,” said Haqiqi, who recently moved to Pakistan. “But all I achieved was going to prison for six months.” Yet even in prison, his YouTube fame earned him envy; guards and inmates came up to him to say: “Lucky you, you must be rich.’”

Azizi, the highly successful head of “Kabul Lovers,” was arrested in 2022 for a video that included criticism of the Taliban. He acknowledged that he, too, is now facing more hurdles, such as demands from officials for more paperwork, even though, he said, “we never say anything against them.”

Lutfullah Qasimyar and Haq Nawaz Khan contributed to this report.

The Taliban once smashed TVs. Now it fosters YouTubers to promote its image.
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Taliban Send Victims of Domestic Violence to Prison

For 27-year-old Leeda, “life is like hell” as her husband beats her every day and she “has to tolerate it” because she has “no other option.”

“My body is always bruised, now I am used to it, I have to tolerate it for my children,” Leeda, a mother of three who lives in the western city of Herat, told VOA with tears in her eyes.

But Leeda, who did not want her real name to be revealed for fear of reprisals, said that she has “nowhere to go” as her parents and siblings are not in Afghanistan and there is no organization in Herat she can turn to for help.

“In the past in Herat, women-operated offices used to help women like me, but those offices no longer exist,” Leeda said, adding that “if I go to the Taliban for help, they will imprison me. They listen to men, not women. What will I do with my children if I go to jail?”

A United Nations report released in December said the Taliban are sending to prison women who complain to them about gender-based violence and do not have male relatives to stay with.

“The confinement of women in prison facilities, outside the enforcement of criminal law, and for the purpose of ensuring their protection from gender-based-violence, would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” stated the U.N. report.

The report added that the imprisonment of vulnerable women would have “a negative impact on their mental and physical health.”

The report, covering the period from August 2021 to March 2023, said that gender-based violence against women in Afghanistan includes murder, honor killings, sexual assault, injury and disability, and deprivation of women from receiving inheritances.

The Taliban told the U.N. that the handling of the cases of violence against women is “based on Sharia law and there is no injustice committed against women.”

After seizing power in 2021, the Taliban closed all the women’s protection centers in Afghanistan where female survivors of family violence would take refuge.

Even before the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan had one of the highest rates of violence against women, with nine in 10 women experiencing some sort of intimate-partner violence in their lifetimes.

Though the support system was not without shortcomings, female survivors of gender-based violence had access to “pro bono legal representation, medical treatment and psychological support,” Amnesty International stated in a 2021 report.

“The system was imperfect, but activists had fought hard for it, and it was gradually improving. One of the first things the Taliban did after seizing power was to destroy this system completely,” said Heather Barr, associate director at Human Rights Watch.

Barr said that the Taliban’s return brought about “the worst women’s rights crisis” in the world.

Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan are banned from secondary and university education, working with government and nongovernment organizations, and traveling long distances without a male relative. They are also barred from going to gyms and public parks.

Samira Hamidi, a regional campaigner for Amnesty International, told VOA that dismantling the institutions, such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, created “a huge gap” in the ability to monitor the women’s rights situation in Afghanistan, especially that of survivors of domestic violence.

“The Taliban’s measure to accommodate women survivors of domestic violence in prisons instead of safe houses and accommodations is a blatant violation of human rights, especially the right to freedom of movement and life,” said Hamidi.

She added that the Taliban “have no intention to protect women” who face gender-based violence.

With the Taliban’s continued crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan, female victims of gender-based violence, like Leeda, live in fear.

“I fear the Taliban,” Leeda said. “If I complain against my husband to anyone, my husband will send the Taliban after me.”

Roshan Noorzai of VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report, which originated in VOA’s Afghan Service.

Taliban Send Victims of Domestic Violence to Prison
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