Taliban courts flog women and girls.
Being a woman under the Taliban regime is very difficult in Afghanistan. The extreme misogyny of the Taliban deprives women of all freedom and human rights. Forced marriages and rapes of girls and women have significantly increased.
Taliban’s Cultural Commission of the Islamic Emirate recently rendered a verdict that states:
‘’Mullah Imams of mosques in the northern provinces of Afghanistan shall collect lists of girls above 15years old and shall list widows’ names. These girls and women must marry Taliban soldiers.’’
Forced marriage of a Taliban Soldier with an underage girl
The Taliban commit systematic rapes of women of minority groups and Persian speaking communities in northern Afghan provinces. Taliban persecution of Shias and ethnic minority groups in Afghanistan mirrors the crimes ISIS committed against girls and women in Syria.
Article 2 of Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide states:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
RAPE IS AN ACT OF GENOCIDE (ICTR: AKEYESU). THIS VIOLATION OF THE GENOCIDE CONVENTION IS BEING PERPETRATED BY THE TALIBAN AGAINST HAZARA AND OTHER SHIA WOMEN EVERY DAY IN AFGHANISTAN.
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
THIS VIOLATION IS ALSO BEING COMMITTED AGAINST HAZARAS AND SHIAS.
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Taliban rape and kill women and girls who belong to Shia religious minority groups and Persian speaking ethnic groups.
According to an eyewitness from Baghlan province:
“Taliban soldiers invade houses and look for girls for forced marriages. Families who resist are subjected to rape of their daughters by Taliban soldiers in front of their families’ eyes. The Taliban then kill their daughters with gun shots.”
The parents of a 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped by the Taliban stated:
“Taliban mullah Imam in Mazar-I-Sharif has a significant role in kidnapping girls from the streets. The Taliban kidnapped our daughter three months ago. We have no information whether our daughter is alive or dead. When we were looking for our child and announced it in the mosque, I heard the most shocking words from the mullah imam. He told me “You must be happy because the girls of Afghanistan must provide their services to the Islamic Emirate. These girls belong to the Taliban and Mujaheddin.”
The Taliban have increased the culture of violence and discrimination against the women of Afghanistan. The Taliban believe women are their property. A woman has no identity for herself.
The number of court verdicts are increasing on a daily basis. The Taliban execute women and girls by accusing them of committing adultery and illegal sexual relations with other men. Women are defenseless. A woman is easily executed if she does not obey the commands of the men of her family or for any other reason. It is easy for the Taliban to accuse them of adultery and illegal sexual relationships. The culture of systematic accusation of adultery is a discriminatory Taliban policy against women.
The Taliban raped and killed this girl in Kunduz Province
Women in Afghanistan have been left behind. The Taliban have arrested many women’s rights activists such as Julia Parsi. These women were on the front lines, fighting against inequalities. Today they are tortured and raped by the Taliban.
The suffocating atmosphere in Afghanistan takes all hope away from women and girls. Women face both domestic violence and violence outside their homes. Many girls commit suicide and put an end to their lives.
One of the women who attempted to commit suicide and was rescued by her mother said:
“I am in a deep pain. I lost everything. The Taliban destroyed my life. They killed my husband and children. I am tired of living in secret. This life is like hell for me. I have nothing else to lose. Hope has left my world.”
There are similar stories from many other girls and women in Afghanistan. One of the nurses in a maternity hospital in Kabul said “I face many shocking incidents in my workplace. I see how some women who give birth to baby girls leave their babies in the hospital or escape and leave their babies close to the mosques.”
A 10-year-old girl said:
“I have no future in Afghanistan. My life is ruined like thousands of girls who live in this country. I feel ashamed of being a girl. There is no better feeling for me. I feel worthless. I don’t want to be a victim of forced marriage. I see how girls are suffering under the Taliban regime. The men become powerful, and they beat women in their families."
Giving birth to a girl in Afghanistan was once a taboo. Today it has become a catastrophe. Systematic discrimination against women in Afghanistan has increased violence against them.
The United Nations must take action to prevent the crimes of the Taliban against women and girls.
The U.N. must impose pressure on the Taliban to stop court cases against women and girls.
The U.N. must demand that the Taliban release women’s rights activists in the custody of the Taliban.