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By Humaira Rasuli
License: RWI report
Afghan women face increased gender-based violence (GBV) and significantly decreased access to justice under the Taliban De Facto Authority (DFA). The legal and social structures that previously provided some protection and a safety net for women–including a national constitution, laws and specialised courts that addressed the elimination of violence toward women, and representation by female lawyers–have collapsed due to the DFA’s overhaul of Afghanistan’s entire judicial system. The Taliban leader has published at least ten official gazettes with over 102 decrees and orders that violate women’s fundamental rights.
Among the steps taken, the Taliban suspended laws that protected the rights of women and girls including the Elimination of Violence Against Women law that had criminalized 22 forms of violence against women, including rape and forced marriage.
The 2024 Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice mandates that women cover
their entire bodies and faces, prohibits women from speaking in public, and requires that a male relative accompany women when leaving the house. The Taliban de facto authorities justify this discrimination by attributing it to Islamic Shariah, in contradiction of Shariah’s principles of justice, dignity, mercy, due process, and evidentiary rigor. In summary, the Taliban have “weaponized” the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls in what amounts to “crimes against humanity. The Taliban dismissed all judges under the previous government, including 270 women, replacing them with men who lack legal training and hand down decisions based on edicts issued by the Taliban.
A few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are partially operational in Afghanistan to help
women access justice, but they face significant challenges. Unless access to justice is restored,
Afghan women will remain trapped in cycles of violence and oppression, with dire consequences for the country’s peace and development. Thus, there is an urgent need for international support to address the systematic gender-based discrimination in Afghanistan.
Key words: Afghan women; gender-based violence; access to justice; women’s rights; Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; crimes against humanity; non-governmental organizations; systematic gender-based discrimination