Afghanistan
Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed policies severely restricting rights—particularly those of women and girls. They have banned women from many forms of employment and prohibited girls and women from attending secondary school and university. The Taliban have also carried out broad censorship and have detained and tortured journalists and activists. Groups affiliated with the Islamic State have carried out bombings targeting ethnic Hazaras-Shias and others, killing and injuring hundreds.
The Afghan economy collapsed after August 2021 when the US, World Bank, and other donors cut off foreign development assistance. Over 90 percent of the Afghan population faces food insecurity along with a rise in malnutrition-related disease.
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Women's Rights
December 3, 2024
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Afghanistan
November 26, 2024
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Human Rights CouncilSince taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed ever-more extreme restrictions on human rights. The rights of women and girls have been especially affected: they have been barred from education beyond sixth grade and many forms of employment, and banned from singing, reading aloud, or even being heard outside their houses. LGBTQI+ people face arbitrary detention, extortion, torture and other ill-treatment and unlawful killing. Taliban forces have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared former government employees, especially security officers. Ethnic and religious minorities face significant risks of persecution and discrimination. Journalists, human rights defenders, and protesters, particularly women, face harassment, arbitrary detention, and violent reprisals. The Taliban have imposed cruel and inhuman punishments, including public executions, flogging and other forms of corporal punishment. The ongoing humanitarian crisis, compounded by economic collapse and the Taliban’s ban on women aid workers, has led to widespread poverty and food insecurity. Women and girls face limits on their freedom of movement that impacts their access to health care, resulting systemic abuses of reproductive rights and the right to health more generally.
Videos
Videos-
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December 6, 2023
“Schools are Failing Boys Too”
The Taliban’s Impact on Boys’ Education in Afghanistan
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March 15, 2023
UAE: Arbitrarily Detained Afghans Stuck in Limbo
Deprived of Freedom with Little Prospect of a New Life
News
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November 25, 2024
This #16Days, Remember Afghan Women and Girls
Enduring Taliban Abuses, Forgotten Globally, But Still Resisting
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October 18, 2024
Extend Norway’s Support for International Law to Afghan Women
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October 10, 2024
Afghanistan: Policewomen Report Past Abuse, Taliban Threats
Countries That Funded Training Should Resettle Those at Risk
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October 9, 2024
UN Rights Council Misses Chance to Advance Justice for Grave Abuses in Afghanistan
EU-led Resolution Lacks Accountability Mechanism, But Provides Blueprint for Action
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September 27, 2024
Afghanistan: More Robust Action Needed by the UN Human Rights Council
HRW Oral Statement - Universal Periodic Review Outcome Adoption - HRC57
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September 17, 2024
Taliban’s Attack on Girls’ Education Harming Afghanistan’s Future
Three Years Since Girls Have Been Out of School Beyond Grade 6
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September 13, 2024
Afghanistan’s Hazara Community Needs Protection
Islamic State Armed Group Kills 14 Civilians in Daikundi
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September 12, 2024
Winding Path to Justice for Australian War Crimes
Few Prosecutions; Inadequate Compensation of Victims
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September 10, 2024
UN Rights Body Should Take Action to Advance Accountability for Past and Ongoing Grave Abuses in Afghanistan
Oral Statement at the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council