A United Nations report published Feb. 16 found that the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s attire and its requirement that women have a male guardian in public are limiting Afghan womenâs freedom of movement and access to education, employment, health care and other basic rights. The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) states that many Afghan women are not leaving their homes alone due to decrees issued by the Taliban. The hardline Islamist regime has demanded women wear specific attire in public, such as the all-covering burqa, and only venture outside if accompanied by a close male relative, known as a mahram.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Vice & Virtue has enforced these rules by issuing warnings and fines and carrying out arrests against violators. The enforcement has prevented many women across the country from going out alone, even for trips such as medical visits, education or work. The Taliban regime dismissed the report’s findings as “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate,” stating: “Islamic laws are under implementation in Afghanistan, objecting to them is a problem with Islam.” But human rights groups have asserted that such measures represent a rollback of women’s rights, and constitute “crimes against humanity of persecution based on gender.”
The UN-convened meeting of Special Envoys & Special Representatives on Afghanistan is taking place in Qatar on Feb. 18-19 as part of discussions on the independent assessment of Afghanistan mandated by Resolution 2679. Many nations have set lifting restrictions on women’s rights as a precondition to resuming frozen foreign aid to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021. The UN and rights groups have called upon the Taliban to reverse course and uphold women’s rights if they wish to gain legitimacy on the global stage.
From Jurist, Feb. 17. Used with permission.
See our last report on the Taliban’s anti-woman crackdown.
Photo:Â 12019/Pixabay via Jurist
Taliban publicly flog more than 60 people in Afghanistan
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on June 5 condemned the public flogging of more than 60 people, including more than a dozen women, by Taliban authorities at a sports stadium in northern Sari Pul province. Those punished had been accused of crimes including sodomy, theft and immoral relations. (Jurist)
Afghanistan ‘worldâs most serious women’s rights crisis’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Aug. 11Â found that the Taliban’s renewed rule in Afghanistan has resulted in the world’s most serious womenâs rights crisis.Â
HRW reported, “Afghanistan is the only country where girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade.” It listed Taliban abuses such as its sex-based restriction of womenâs movement, employment, education, healthcare access, and enjoyment of sports and parks.  The organization remarked, “The Taliban’s education bans guarantee future shortages of female health workers.”
According to a UN press release from Feb. 2, the Taliban has detained women for “bad hijab.” (Jurist)
UN official warns Taliban ‘virtue’ law severely restricts rights
The Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Roza Otunbayeva, warned Aug. 25 that the Taliban’s “Law on Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice” imposes severe restrictions on the rights of Afghans. Otunbayeva said that the 35-article law, which includes measures such as a ban on women’s voices and uncovered faces in public, presents a “distressing vision for Afghanistanâs future.”  (Jurist)
UN rights chief calls for repeal of Taliban ‘virtue & vice’ law
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂźrk called Aug. 27 for the Talibanâs recently enacted âPromotion of Virtue and Prevention of Viceâ law in Afghanistan to be repealed. is office condemned the law as “utterly intolerable,” demanding: “We call on the de facto authorities to immediately repeal this legislation, which is in clear violation of Afghanistanâs obligations under international law.” (Jurist)