Taliban: 500 Women Imprisoned in Afghanistan's Jails

Mohammad Yousuf Mestari, head of this administration, said in an interview withAfghanistan National Television that many of these individuals are incarcerated in connection with "criminal cases."

Mestari's statement about the 500 female prisoners comes despite the Taliban repeatedly denying the presence of women in their prisons.

Additionally, a few months ago, Habibullah Badr, the military deputy of the prison administration, said that 800 women were in Taliban prisons across Afghanistan. He mentioned this number of female prisoners while denying any "political prisoners" in Taliban jails and refuting allegations of beating or torture.

Meanwhile, Taliban officials are talking about a decrease in the number of female prisoners, whereas eight months ago, at the end of 1402 solar year, during the "Government Accountability to the Nation" program, they said that 66,000 prisoners were held in their jails, including 2,000 women and children.

Last year, the United Nations office reported in July that the number of Taliban prisoners was 15,000. UNAMA confirmed in this report that the Taliban "torture" prisoners and use "electric shocks."

Recently, Raeesa Yazdanparast, the director of the women's section at the National Security Directorate 050 of the previous government, disclosed torture by the Taliban in prisons, stating that she was detained by Taliban forces and spent one and a half months under torture in their prison.

Furthermore, the Spectator magazine, citing the United Nations last month, reported that sexual assault, gang rape, and sexual slavery against women in Taliban prisons are set to be investigated by the UN.

The report published by the magazine indicated that reports of sexual violence and rape by the Taliban against female prisoners in Afghanistan have raised concerns at the U.S. State Department and among Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, and the United Nations has announced an investigation into this matter.