Three Years of Nightmare in Afghanistan

This week marks the third anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of?Afghanistan. It’s a grim reminder of the human rights catastrophe that has engulfed the lives of Afghans across the country, particularly women and girls, in the years since.

Since taking power on August 15, 2021, the Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis and women and girls in the country are living a nightmare.

Afghanistan is the only country where girls are banned from?education beyond the?sixth grade.?The Taliban has banned women from many types of employment, dismantled protections for women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, and created barriers to accessing health care. They’ve even barred women and girls from playing sports and visiting parks.?

The Taliban are also now detaining women and girls around the country for not properly adhering to the Taliban’s imposed dress code. Some have reportedly been held incommunicado for days and subjected to violence and intimidation.?

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, worsened by funding shortfalls from donor countries. The UN?estimates that more than half of Afghanistan’s population?–?23 million people?– face food insecurity. Women and girls are among the most?seriously?affected.

This drop in foreign assistance has?severely undermined Afghanistan’s healthcare system and worsened malnutrition and illnesses?resulting from inadequate medical care. The Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls have impeded access to health care, jeopardizing their right to health.

But this anniversary is also a call to action. As Afghans inside the country and those who have fled to seek asylum and resettlement elsewhere wait for desperately needed aid and protection, it’s a reminder to donor countries that engaging in Afghanistan shouldn’t come at the cost of reinforcing the Taliban’s repressive policies against women and girls.

Donors should ensure assistance to Afghanistan goes to those most in need and they should work towards justice for Afghans experiencing abuse under Taliban rule. As Human Rights Watch Afghanistan researcher Fereshta Abbasi says, “All?governments should support efforts to hold the Taliban?leadership?and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan?to account.”

Also in The Week in Rights:

• How LA cruelly criminalizes unhoused people
• Catch up on our podcast episodes
• The weekly quiz

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