Women’s rights activists face increasing pressure in Taliba-ruled Afghanistan, HRW says

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report on Friday revealed that women’s rights activists in Afghanistan are facing alarming threats and attacks under the Taliban rule, Amu News reported.

The organization has highlighted the stories of several women who are currently arbitrarily detained by the Taliban. However, it emphasizes that there are many more unnamed activists facing similar fates.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, there has been a blatant suppression of women’s rights. In response, women across the country took to the streets, demanding “Bread, work, freedom.” The Taliban’s reaction to these protests has been characterized by violence, arbitrary detention, and torture, HRW said.

The detained women, most of whom were protesters, and others involved in running underground schools, are facing grave dangers, the report says.

It added that families, fearing repercussions, often conceal the arrests, hoping that silence may secure their release or mitigate abuses in custody. However, locating the detained women proves challenging, and when found, their condition is often shocking, the report says.

According to HRW, families have reported that detained women, some arrested alongside small children, endure abusive conditions and torture. Upon release, the Taliban imposes demands for property deeds, threatening confiscation if the woman continues her activism.