Human Rights Watch: Women and Girls in Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule Are Living in Their Worst Nightmares

In a statement released today, Monday (August 12), about the third anniversary of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch has stated that the Taliban has created the most severe women's rights crisis in the world.

The statement notes that Afghanistan, under Taliban control, is the only country in the world where girls above the sixth grade are barred from education. Additionally, women's freedom of movement is severely restricted, and they are deprived of protection from sexual violence, healthcare, sports, and recreational parks.

Human Rights Watch references statements by Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, who has described the deprivation of women's and girls' rights as a "systemic pattern of discrimination, segregation, and disrespect for human dignity."

Farishta Abbasi emphasizes in the statement that "under the abuser Taliban regime, Afghan women and girls are living in their worst nightmares" and calls on governments to support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan accountable.

The organization also highlights severe restrictions on freedom of expression and media, the detention and torture of protesters and journalists by the Taliban, and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan resulting from cuts in development aid.

Human Rights Watch has urged the international community to work towards alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and holding the Taliban leadership accountable. The organization has also stressed that donor countries should find ways to provide aid without reinforcing the Taliban's repressive policies, and emphasized that "the third anniversary of the Taliban's takeover should serve as a bitter reminder of the human rights crisis and a call to action."