Access to Justice Denied for Women under the Taliban Rule

Originally published by Booda Media

Introduction

The justice and judicial system under Taliban rule in Afghanistan no longer serve as a process for seeking justice, but has instead has become a tool for suppressing, humiliating, and eliminating women. A new Research conducted by “Forward Together Development Network” located in Canada[1], based on in-depth interviews with women who have survived Taliban detention centers, as well as perspectives from human rights experts, reveals systematic and widespread violations of women’s rights. According to the report finding, such violations have crossed the threshold of crimes against humanity. Below is a summary of key findings:

 Arbitrary Arrests

According to the research findings, the process of denying justice begins from the very moment women opposing the Taliban regime are first detained. Women, particularly civil and human rights activists are abducted from streets, homes, or peaceful gatherings without any warrant or legal documentation. One survivor recalls a bitter night near her home when a blanket was suddenly thrown over her head, and she was thrown into a military vehicle amid beatings and threats. Another witness describes feeling a rifle barrel against her ear and being forced into a Taliban vehicle under threat of death. These arrests are not only illegal but are deliberately accompanied by physical violence and intimidation, designed to silence any dissenting voice permanently.

Courts Without Lawyers, Judges Without Law

Following arrest, women enter a cycle of injustice where even the most basic principles of fair trial are disregarded. The Taliban have banned defense lawyers from courts. One female victim recount how her father had hired a lawyer hoping to defend her rights, but the Taliban officials expelled the lawyer from the courtroom and threatened to detain him. Thus, women appear before judges who are often selected from among religious figures lacking legal education, and who issue verdicts based not on evidence but on their own prejudices and ideological interpretations.

Fabricated Narratives for Legitimacy

To fill the void of legal evidence, the Taliban extensively use torture to extract forced confessions. Detained women describe beatings, electric shocks, and being doused with cold water in dark, cold rooms. The aim is to force them to read pre-written texts before cameras, giving a semblance of legality to their detentions. One victim recount being compelled to read fabricated confessions against herself in front of Taliban media; whenever she tried to speak her own words, filming would stop. In this system, the principle of innocence has no place and instead, women are presumed guilty from the outset.

Psychological and Sexual Torture

The abuse of women in detention centers is not limited to physical torture. The Taliban establish their dominance through psychological threats. Women in this study speak of constant threats of execution, stoning, and harm to their families. Solitary confinement and cutting off contact with the outside world leave them in a state of absolute helplessness. One survivor recount that when she protested, she was told to perform ablution because she was going to be stoned.

Sexual violence is also employed as a tool of ultimate humiliation. Although speaking about it remains difficult for many victims due to social and cultural pressures, some women have mentioned sexual assault, and many others report verbal abuse and humiliating body searches. One stated, “They repeatedly called us prostitutes and infidels.” These actions constitute clear torture under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and, when organized systematically, may amount to crimes against humanity.

Double Discrimination Against Certain Women Activists

Political discrimination against women under Taliban rule in Afghanistan is intertwined with ethnic and religious discrimination. Hazara and Shia women and those from other religious minorities face the most severe forms of humiliation and violence. They are labeled “infidels,” “heretics,” and “rat-eaters,” while activists from these communities are accused of having foreign connections. This persecution not only multiplies their individual suffering but serves a deeper purpose: their complete exclusion from national identity and the delegitimization of their presence in society.

Deprivation of Human Dignity

Conditions in women’s detention centers are deliberately designed to be inhumane and degrading. Women describe dark, cramped, and filthy cells lacking even the most basic sanitation and comfort. Access to clean drinking water, adequate food, and medical care is systematically denied. One women activist recounts being denied bathing for 15 days and being forced to wear the same dirty clothes for long times. These measures aim at nothing less than destroying human dignity and completely subjugating women to the Taliban’s tyrannical will.

A Voice to Break the Silence

This investigative report constitutes a shout out directed at the international community. Silence in the face of these systematic human rights violations amounts to complicity in their continuation. Citing international instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Rome Statute, the organization emphasizes the necessity of international accountability.

This human rights and advocacy network calls on the international community to take practical steps toward halting this humanitarian catastrophe by: establishing an independent international mechanism to investigate and prosecute Taliban crimes; providing financial and technical support to exiled human rights organizations; and applying diplomatic pressure on neighboring countries to stop the forced deportation of asylum seekers.

The report’s final message is clear: Afghan women must not become victims of global oblivion. They demand justice, and human rights institutions and the international community bear responsibility toward them.

[1]. See full report here: https://www.ftdnetwork.org/single-blog-page/8

Note: Photo Credit belongs to Vice Magazine