The U.S. State Department has published its annual human rights report for 2023, which highlighted a notable decline in women’s rights. It pointed to new regulations limiting women’s access to education and jobs, leading to a situation where women became increasingly limited to domestic responsibilities.

The report highlighted a range of human rights issues, including killings, abuse, harsh prison conditions, unjust detentions, media and internet restrictions, and limits on political participation, corruption, and child recruitment.

The department emphasized that they do not recognize the Taliban as legitimate.

“This year’s report also captures human rights abuses against members of vulnerable communities. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have limited work opportunities for women, shuttered institutions found educating girls, and increasing floggings for women and men accused of, quote, ‘immoral behavior,’ end quote,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated.

In the report, the State Department criticized the Taliban’s authoritarianism, stating that they have declared a “so-called interim government consisting largely of Taliban fighters, mullahs, and close associates of the group, predominantly belonging to the Pashtun ethnicity.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a statement on Tuesday regarding this report that the Taliban has “effectively removed Afghan women from the public sphere” with its directives.

According to the report, the ban on education and employment for women has worsened their situation, and they are now confined to the four walls of their homes.

The U.S. State Department said that the Taliban has shown no flexibility in its policies and that the group’s orders are in contradiction with Afghanistan’s commitments and international conventions.

The State Department’s report mentions political imprisonments, poor prison conditions, killings, torture, arbitrary detentions, and the lack of judicial independence.

The report states that the Taliban has used children in armed conflicts.

The U.S. State Department has given a negative assessment of the media situation in Afghanistan. The report states that the Taliban imposes increasing restrictions on freedom of speech every day. Additionally, journalists face Taliban violence and arbitrary detentions.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has obstructed peaceful gatherings and imposed restrictions on internet usage.

The U.S. State Department has stated that religious freedoms in Afghanistan are limited, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities has occurred.

The annual report also highlights the Taliban’s widespread disregard for the rule of law and the impunity of human rights violators, as the group has failed to reduce domestic violence, sexual violence, early and forced marriages.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesperson, responded to the report by emphasizing that Afghan people’s rights are defined by Islamic laws.

He stated that cultural and human rights norms in the West differ from those in Afghanistan, cautioning against imposing Western values on other nations.

The media center announced the meeting between Tariq Ali Bakheet, the special representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy of the Taliban Prime Minister. They stated that Mr. Bakheet called for the lifting of educational and employment restrictions on women.

According to the report, Mr. Bakheet praised women’s achievements in the economic sector during the meeting and called for removing restrictions on women’s education and employment.

The special representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation further added that some Islamic countries have concerns about Afghanistan that need to be discussed closely with the Taliban administration. However, the government media centre has not been reminded about these concerns.

According to the media center’s report, the representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation emphasized the value of education for Islamic countries and stated that these countries are ready to cooperate in women’s education.

Taliban claim that their leadership’s decree regarding “protecting” girls, banning forced marriages of girls, and addressing their inheritance is being implemented.

He also mentioned that female teachers and government employees receive their salaries at home while working in government offices.

More than two years have passed since the closure of girls’ schools and the suspension of education for women in Afghanistan, yet there is no sign of reopening educational institutions.

It is worth mentioning that the global community’s important demands for more interaction with the current regime include the reopening of educational institutions and the allowing of women to work in government and non-governmental organizations.

Written By: Hakim Bigzaad

The United Nations Women’s Section has released a report stating that the majority of the victims of the Herat earthquake were women and children, with a focus on women in their aid efforts.

This institution, which recently elaborated on its assistance to earthquake victims in Herat, emphasized that 58% of the youth casualties in the October 7, 2023 earthquake in Herat were women. According to the report, 60% of the wounded and 61% of the missing persons are also women.

It is noteworthy that on October 7, 2023, an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale shook Herat province in western Afghanistan, mainly affecting women and children. The epicentre of this earthquake was in Zindajan district of Herat.

The report mentions that cash assistance has been provided to 500 female heads of households in affected areas, but details of the assistance provided are not available.

Furthermore, the report states that 600 women have received non-food aid such as blankets, clothes, shoes, and tents, while an additional 370 women have received psychosocial support and social assistance.

The deadly Herat earthquake on October 7, 2023, destroyed about 400 villages to varying degrees. 10% of women in these affected villages were entrepreneurs.

According to the United Nations Women’s Section, 178 of the 400 affected villages have received assistance.

Mullah Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, Taliban Special Advisor to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and the head of a Taliban jihadist school in Kandahar Killed in Quetta City, Pakistan, on Thursday, April 18th.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, confirmed the killing of Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, a member of the Taliban’s supervision department.

According to reports, Akhundzada had gone to a village in Qaetta, Pakistan, to visit his family during the Eid al-Fitr days when he was killed by unknown assailants.

Zabihullah Mujahid expressed condolences for Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada’s death in a note posted on his social media account on Friday, April 19^th.

The Taliban spokesperson and other officials of the group have not provided any explanation on how Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada was killed and by whom.

The Taliban has condemned the killing of Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, calling his death a “great crime.”

Some Taliban members mourned Omar Jan Akhundzada’s killing, sharing his body photos on the X network without details. Photos showed no gunshot wounds to his head and face. No one has claimed responsibility yet. Akhundzada was appointed as special advisor to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada in March 2022. He wielded influence among religious scholars in Kandahar and was part of the Taliban leader’s inner circle. Mullah Hibatullah consults trusted individuals in Kandahar on key matters, often bypassing the Kabul cabinet and Taliban ministries in decision-making.

So far, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for his killing.

The Afghan National Radio Television, under Taliban control, reported that Mr. Akhundzada was a member of the Taliban’s oversight department and a teacher at a jihadist school in Kandahar.

However, according to reports, Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada was an advisor to Hibtullah Akhundzada and he led a Taliban jihadist school in Kandahar.