Photo by AFP In recent days, a disturbing wave of mass arrests of women and girls in Kabul has once again drawn attention to the Taliban’s systematic repression of women’s rights. Forces from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have arrested women in several districts of Kabul, without court orders, without informing families, and with violent conduct, taking them from streets, markets, vehicles, and even educational centers. According to reports and information from local sources, Taliban forces have detained dozens of teenage girls and young women in various parts of Kabul, particularly in Shahr-e Naw and Dasht-e Barchi, on the charge of “failing to observe Islamic hijab.” However, many of the detainees were reportedly wearing full hijab. This wave of arrests once again highlights the Taliban’s oppressive policies against women and exposes the group’s mechanisms of social control and gender-based discrimination. The most recent wave of arrests began on Wednesday (July 16). In one of the initial operations, more than 100 women and girls were taken from the streets, hospitals, restaurants, and commercial centers of Shahr-e Naw and transferred to unknown locations. Reports indicate that some of the detainees were released after 24 hours on bail, but the fate of many remains unknown. Continuing this campaign, another operation was carried out on Saturday afternoon (July 19) in western Kabul, particularly in Dasht-e Barchi. Local sources have confirmed that Taliban fighters detained teenage girls from Resalat Street, Barchi City Center, Qala-e Fathullah, beauty salons, and even from public transportation vehicles. According to eyewitness accounts, more than 30 girls were detained in this area. These arrests were conducted without the presence of female officers and with violent behavior. While sources confirm the widespread detentions, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue denied the reports, claiming the girls were arrested not for hijab violations, but for dubbing “un-Islamic” films. However, eyewitness testimonies and videos circulated on social media tell a very different story. In one video released from the recent arrests, a woman cries out, “You have taken away our education, our schools, and our lives; what more do you want? Fear God!” Human rights organizations and women’s rights defenders, including the “Human Rights Activist Union,” have issued statements condemning the arrests as “misogynistic, arbitrary, and a violation of human dignity.” They emphasized that silence in the face of such actions is tantamount to complicity, and that the international community must not allow the human rights situation in Afghanistan to deteriorate even further. At the same time, local sources report increasing pressure on educational institutions. According to those sources, the Taliban have warned some course administrators that girls without a niqab and face mask will not be allowed to enter classrooms. The arrest of women has sparked widespread public and political backlash. Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, a former jihadist leader, described the actions as contrary to religion, Afghan honor, and Islamic dignity. He stated, “Laying hands on women and arresting them by non-mahram men, and transferring them to prisons guarded by men, not only violates religion and Sharia but also tramples on Islamic dignity, Afghan honor, and human decency.” Although the Taliban deny or justify these arrests, what is unfolding in reality is a clear example of systematic violence against women. Afghan women are not only deprived of education, employment, travel, and basic freedoms, they now live in constant fear of arrest, humiliation, and physical elimination.

Photo: UNAMA – via Twitter (@UN) The Taliban’s Commission for Refugee Affairs has stated that more than 20,000 Afghan citizens were forcibly returned from Iran in just one day. According to the commission’s report, on Wednesday (July 16), a total of 20,044 individuals entered Afghanistan through the Islam Qala and Pul-e Abrisham border crossings. Of these, 15,207 crossed through Islam Qala and 4,836 returned via the Pul-e Abrisham border. This comes as the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran continues. In recent months, amid mounting economic pressure and legal restrictions, Iranian authorities have expelled thousands of Afghan migrants without providing proper conditions for return. Human rights organizations have reported that many of these deportations are carried out forcibly and without due legal process. In addition to Iran, Pakistan has also intensified the return of Afghan migrants in recent months. Relief and human rights organizations have repeatedly called on the international community to provide urgent and sustained support for deported migrants, but no effective action has yet been taken.

Social Media The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that on Wednesday (July 16), 18 people, including five women, were flogged in public in Gosfandi district of Sar-e Pol province. According to the court’s statement, these individuals were sentenced by the Taliban’s primary court in Gosfandi on charges such as “gambling, adultery, intentional murder, and phone contact,” receiving between 20 to 35 lashes and prison terms ranging from six months to two years. The punishments were carried out in the court compound after being approved by the Taliban’s chief justice and in the presence of judicial officials, administrative staff, Taliban fighters, and a number of local residents. It is worth noting that since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly carried out public punishments. Previously, at least ten individuals were executed by the group in front of hundreds of spectators. International human rights organizations consider such corporal punishments and public executions to be violations of human dignity and international law, and have called for their immediate halt.

Photo: Stringer / Reuters (via Al Jazeera) Following the mass expulsion of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former President of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over the humanitarian consequences of this process, stating that “the fear among girls of an uncertain future and the despair among returning youth is shocking.” In an audio message released on Thursday (July 17), Ghani warned that remaining silent in the face of this situation would lead the country toward a full-scale humanitarian disaster. He emphasized that the country is on the brink of a deep crisis and that “national will” must be united to confront it. The former president said, “In such circumstances, we must speak openly and clearly about the sensitivity of the situation. If we remain silent, the growing crisis will lead to a full-blown human catastrophe.” He also referred to the shift in global policies, emphasizing that the international community of the past no longer exists, is in decline, and no country is willing to accept Afghan migrants. Ghani added that today's world is engaged in a new cold war and international rivalries, while the United Nations and its related agencies are also facing a severe economic crisis. This comes as the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan continues, and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned about the humanitarian and crisis-inducing consequences of these returns.

Photo: Etilaatroz.com A 15-year-old Afghan migrant girl named Farida Mohammadi has been missing for the past seven days in Tehran, and no information is currently available about her whereabouts. According to media reports, the teenage girl disappeared around noon on Wednesday (July 9) after leaving her workplace at a tailoring workshop in the Salehabad area of Eslamshahr. Farida’s family says that despite a week having passed, there is still no sign of her location or condition, and all efforts to find her have been unsuccessful. According to the newspaper Etilaat Roz, Iranian police have launched an investigation and have sent inquiries to various camps and hospitals in an attempt to find a clue about the missing teenager. Additionally, a document obtained by the media shows that the Taliban embassy in Tehran has confirmed Farida’s disappearance and has requested Iranian authorities to cooperate with her family. Farida’s disappearance comes amid growing concerns over previous cases of missing and even murdered Afghan migrants in Iran. In June, the dismembered body of Kubra Rezayi, an Afghan migrant girl, was found among trash in Tehran 50 days after she went missing. Iranian media reported that an Iranian man was arrested in connection with the murder.

Photo: © STFA The United Nations Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) has announced that in 2024, around 178,000 people in the northern region of the country have benefited from the joint development programs of this organization, of whom more than 85,000 are women. In a report published on Wednesday (July 16), the Fund stated that since the launch of these programs in 2022 until the end of 2024, nearly 2.9 million people across Afghanistan have benefited from its services and projects. According to the report, in the provinces of Balkh and Jawzjan, more than 28 kilometers of rural roads have been rebuilt and maintained, which has improved access to markets and reduced travel time. The UN Trust Fund also reported increased access to health services in Balkh province, stating that following the reconstruction of the Abu Ali Sina Regional Hospital, the number of patients visiting the facility rose from 8,500 in 2023 to 20,000 in 2024. This comes as Afghanistan continues to face widespread crises, including poverty, unemployment, forced return of migrants, and the impacts of climate change.

Photo: Omid Radio Local sources in Ghazni province report that five members of a family, including four children, were killed at night by unidentified gunmen in Qarabagh district of the province. The incident took place on Sunday night (July 13) in the village of Tolahkhel in Qarabagh district. According to Abu Khalid Sarhadi, spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Ghazni, the armed men entered the family's home at midnight and killed five members, including four children. Another child was injured in the attack. Sarhadi added that several suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, but no details have been provided regarding the identities of the victims or the possible motive for the killings. This incident comes amid a rise in mysterious killings across various provinces in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return to power. The perpetrators of these killings are often described as "unidentified armed men" and are rarely prosecuted or punished.

Social Media The human rights organization Hengaw has reported that the intelligence forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran arrested Sara Gohari, an Afghan student at the University of Tehran, more than ten days ago and transferred her to an unknown location. According to the report published on Wednesday (July 16), Sara Gohari was arrested by security forces on July 6 at the Taybad border crossing while she was conducting independent research on the situation of migrants. She had previously announced on her Instagram page that she would travel to the Taybad border for this research. The report adds that since her arrest, this sociology student has not been allowed to contact her family or access a defense lawyer. Sara Gohari's family says that ten days after her arrest, they have no information about her well-being, and their efforts to obtain news have been unsuccessful. Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not yet reacted to this case. Sara Gohari's arrest comes amid an increasingly securitized environment in Iran, where pressure on Afghan migrants has intensified. In recent months, more than half a million migrants have been forcibly deported from Iran.

This photo of Marina Sadat was sent exclusively to Zan TV by her family. Two years after the horrific killing of Marina Sadat by the Taliban in Kabul, her family is still struggling in the whirlpool of threats, displacement, and helplessness. In a recent interview with Zan News, Marina's brother recounts a shocking narrative of his family's ongoing suffering; a family that was first oppressed and tortured by the Taliban and is now on the verge of forced deportation from Iran. Marina Sadat was a 23-year-old student who, in December 2023, was arrested by the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, solely for what they called "improper hijab." Marina's family searched for her for 21 full days until her tortured body was found inside a sack next to a stream in the Paghman district of Kabul. Marks of whipping, beating, suffocation, and torture on Marina’s frail and lifeless body testified to the cruelty inflicted upon her by the Taliban. The body of Marina Sadat, a 23-year-old Afghan student, found in a sack beside a stream in Paghman district — showing signs of severe torture and abuse after being detained by the Taliban in December 2023. Marina Sadat's parents were arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban after their daughter's killing, due to their pursuit of justice and protest against the group. Marina’s brother told Zan News, “My father and mother were in the Taliban’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul for a full seven months. In prison, they were repeatedly beaten and tortured, and they were even subjected to electric shocks, the physical and psychological effects of which still remain on their bodies and minds.” He added that during the interrogations, the Taliban repeatedly told them, “Why didn’t your daughter stay at home and why did she go to university? Why didn’t your daughter get married, and why did you disgrace us [the Taliban] with your protest and demands for justice?” After seven months of detention, the Taliban released Marina’s parents on the condition of silence and a monetary guarantee. Marina’s brother says, “The Taliban warned us that if we raise our voices again, this time they will eliminate all of us.” Following these threats, Marina’s family was forced to leave Afghanistan in July 2024. They crossed the border with great difficulty and entered Iran. Marina’s brother says about this, “Although we entered Iran legally, we had to bribe Afghan border soldiers in order to cross the border. Throughout the journey, we were worried that we might again be under Taliban surveillance.” Now in Tehran, Marina’s family lives in a critical situation; under severe poverty, without legal residency, without the right to education or work, and under constant threat of arrest and deportation. Marina’s brother says, “After the visa expired, we went several times to the Iranian Ministry of Immigration in Tehran, but our asylum request was rejected. They said if we pay 5,000 dollars and have an official guarantor, we might be able to get temporary residency. We had neither such money nor anyone to guarantee us. We are a wounded, helpless, and grieving family that even struggles to afford our nightly bread. We were arrested multiple times by Iranian police and were only released through pleading and paying bribes.” Marina’s family says they have gone to the office of the United Nations (UNHCR) in Tehran many times, but they were met with neglect and humiliation. Marina’s brother says, “Local staff of the United Nations told us that no country is willing to accept you Afghans, you terrorists, and they rejected our asylum request.” Marina’s family’s greatest concern now is forced deportation from Iran. Marina’s brother says, “If we go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us. We have neither shelter nor refuge. If the world does not respond to our cries and before we are deported, we will be forced to commit suicide and self-immolation. This will be a catastrophe.” Marina’s family calls on the international community, the United Nations, and European countries to be their voice and prevent their forced deportation. They also call on free media and Afghan activists not to remain silent and to respond to this cry for justice.

Photo: Embrace Relief / Global Town School Initiative Coinciding with July 15, World Youth Skills Day, the European Union delegation in Kabul has emphasized its support for Afghan youth, especially girls, by issuing a statement. In a message on the social network X, the delegation wrote: “Afghan girls deserve more opportunities, not restrictions, to learn, work, and progress.” The statement further reads: “We invest in skills that create job opportunities, build resilience, and keep hope alive. From programming to tailoring and agriculture, Afghan youth are building a better future.” The European Union considers the private sector and entrepreneurship as the main pillars of development and the growth of youth skills in Afghanistan, and has emphasized that the Union supports innovation and economic resilience in the country. The Union added: “By supporting entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises, and local businesses, we help Afghan youth turn their ideas into jobs and income.” The European Union also stated that it works with its partners to strengthen women’s and girls’ access to education, employment, and skill development, so they can lead their communities toward a better future as agents of change. This comes as the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on Afghan women and girls, ranging from denial of education and work to bans on employment in non-governmental and international organizations.