Afghanistan: Taliban members "started giving me electric shocks... my shoulders, face, neck, everywhere they could," said Afghan university student. After being arrested this year for appearing in public without a male patron, known in Arabic as Mahram, he was threatened and beaten. "They called me a whore [and] a b****..." The man with the gun said, 'I'll kill you, and no one will find your body,'" she told Amnesty International.
These horrifying details were attached to the group's report, "Death in Slow Motion: Women and Girls Under Taliban Rule," which was released Wednesday. It reveals the extent of abuse and sanctions against women and girls in Afghanistan through painstaking interviews.
According to an Amnesty International investigation, the Taliban takeover in August last year resulted not only in an increase in the number of women and girls arrested for "moral corruption" but also in gender-based violence, child brides and forced marriages. , "This suffocating crackdown on Afghanistan's female population is getting worse by the day," said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
"The international community must urgently demand that the Taliban respect and protect the rights of women and girls," he said, adding that their lives are now controlled in every detail. An increasing number of women and girls have been arrested and detained for minor violations such as the Mahram ban, according to four Taliban-run detention center whistleblowers. In addition to being barred from appearing in public without a male mentor, some women have also been punished for going places with male friends or co-workers. Usually only close male relatives are allowed to chase females.
They sometimes bring boys and girls from the coffee shop... "[or] if they see a woman who is not with the mahram, she can be arrested," said one prison employee. Explained. "Earlier, there were no such cases in jail... the figures are increasing month by month." Those arrested are generally charged with "moral corruption", the definition of which is unclear.
According to whistleblowers, many survivors of domestic violence are now being held in detention centres. Despite the Taliban's early promises to protect the rights of women and girls, systematic discrimination has increased. The action sparked a wave of protests, in which the participating women faced harassment, forced disappearances, and physical and psychological torture. A protester who was arrested and detained for several days earlier this year said he was beaten up and threatened while showing photographs of his family.
They started shouting at me... 'You dirty woman...' said a member of the Taliban. "America isn't giving us money because you're a crook," she explained. "He kicked me again. It was so strong it hurt my back, and he even kicked my chin... My mouth still hurts. When I try to talk, it pains."
Two women informed Amnesty International that Taliban members have devised a new strategy to stop sharing their injuries on social media. "We were beaten between the legs and on our breasts." "They did this to us so we couldn't show the world," explained one woman. According to the report, many women were also forced to sign agreements that they and their family members would not protest or talk publicly about their experiences. According to research by Amnesty International, which has been confirmed by other experts and activists, rates of child, early and forced marriages have also increased in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
According to the report, governments and international organizations, including all UN member states and the UN Security Council, should develop and implement a strong and coordinated strategy to pressure the Taliban to make these changes. The women and girls in the interviews urged the Taliban to improve the country's living conditions rather than "closing all possible doors for women". Many are also unhappy with the inaction of the international community. "I am tired of hearing that the world feels sorry for us," said a woman detained after a peaceful protest. Don't be sorry if you don't want to participate."
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