Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists, NGOs based in London and Geneva, jointly released a report on Friday urging an investigation into the Taliban’s restrictions on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Titled, “The Taliban’s war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan,” it cited the ICC statute, which lists gender-based persecution as a crime against humanity.
The report sheds light on the severe limitations imposed by Islamic fundamentalist groups on women and girls in the war-torn country, after they seized power in August 2021 while US and NATO troops were on their last legs. week of their withdrawal from the country after two decades of war.
How has Taliban rule affected women’s rights?
Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule, the Taliban has become more authoritarian, which has had a major impact on various aspects of women’s lives.
Women’s access to education and employment is limited, along with their ability to travel and access to medical care.
The report also accused the Taliban of targeting women and girls who participated in peaceful protests by detaining, forcibly disappearing them and subjecting them to custodial torture.
Amnesty has also documented cases of women and girls being forcibly married to members of the Taliban, as well as attempts to force them into such marriages. The report said that those who refused such marriages were “subjected to abduction, intimidation, intimidation and torture.”
“Women and girls in Afghanistan are the victims of a crime against humanity of gender-based persecution. The gravity of the crime requires a stronger international response than has been seen so far. There is a The only consequence is acceptable: this system of gender oppression and persecution must be dismantled,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International.
Call for action against the Taliban
The organizations called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include the “crime against humanity of gender-based persecution” in the ongoing investigation of the situation in Afghanistan.
They urged the international community to address the issue of “gender persecution and other potential violations of international law by the Taliban” at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council.
“Holding the Taliban criminally accountable and addressing widespread impunity for the serious crimes documented in this report is a necessary step toward ensuring justice for the survivors of their atrocities. We cannot fail the women and girls of Afghanistan,” said Santiago A. Canton, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists.
Taliban authorities, which claim to have established an “Islamic system” after the departure of US-led NATO forces, have yet to respond to the report. Previously, the Taliban dismissed similar reports as “biased and propagandistic.”
In April, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Taliban to ensure the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
The report by Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists adds more weight to the need for urgent action to address the dire situation facing women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
tg/sri (dpa, AP, EPD)
