By Tiril Andresen / GICJ
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the condition for Afghan women and girls has gone from bad to worse. A group of independent UN human rights experts recently warned about systematic gender-based violence and discrimination, and how Taliban policies taken together “constitute a collective punishment of women and girls, grounded on gender-based bias and harmful practices”. [1] [2] On Sunday the 16th of January, Afghan activists peacefully demonstrated in Kabul, calling for the Taliban regime to ensure women's rights. Three days later, two women who joined the protest were forcibly taken, along with their families, and on the 2nd and 3rd of February, two more women were abducted.
On the 8th of February, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, addressed the issue [3]. She briefed that there is still no news or confirmed information about the well-being or current location of the women or their families. She expressed severe concerns about the safety and health of the abducted women and their relatives. The UN is currently exerting pressure on the Afghan authorities to get information on their whereabouts and call for their immediate release.
Recent reports show that Afghan civil society activists are at increased risk of ill-treatment and torture. Earlier this week, on the 1st of February, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, described it as "a pattern of arbitrary arrests and detentions" [4]. In fact, Ms Shamdasani stated that the UN "call on the de facto authorities to publicly report on the findings of their investigation into the abduction and disappearance of these women activists and their relatives, to take all possible measures to ensure their safe and immediate release, and to hold those responsible to account".
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) condemns any form of ill-treatment or reprisals towards human rights activists. We are troubled by how the Taliban regime systematically suppresses civil society activists, particularly those of the female gender. GICJ calls on the international community to pressure the Taliban regime to ensure the immediate release of the Afghan women activists and their families.
Justice, Human Rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/01/1109902
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=28094&LangID=E
[4] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=28076&LangID=E
