Islamabad: The Taliban's severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan were denounced by two leading rights organisations on Friday as gender-based persecution and a crime against humanity.

Amnesty International and the International Commission for Jurists, or ICJ, highlighted in a recent report how the Taliban's assault on Afghan women's rights, along with "imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment," may qualify as gender persecution under the International Criminal Court.

The report by Amnesty and the International Court of Justice, titled "The Taliban's war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan," cited the ICC statute, which categorises gender-based discrimination as a crime against humanity.

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In August 2021, as US and NATO troops were preparing to leave Afghanistan after two decades of conflict, the Taliban took control of the nation.

Despite early assurances of a more moderate government, the Taliban quickly began to impose restrictions on women and girls, barring them from public places and the majority of jobs as well as prohibiting education for girls past the sixth grade. The actions recalled the Taliban's previous rule over Afghanistan in the late 1990s, when they also imposed their stringent application of Sharia, or Islamic law.

The Taliban, whose government has not been formally recognised by the United Nations or the international community, have already been shunned, and the harsh edicts have sparked a global outcry.

The ICJ secretary general, Santiago A. Canton, stated in the report that the Taliban's actions qualify as "a crime against humanity of gender persecution" due to their "magnitude, gravity, and systematic nature."

Both organisations urged the International Criminal Court to pursue legal action and include this crime in their ongoing inquiry into what is occurring in Afghanistan. Additionally, they urged nations "to exercise universal jurisdiction" and prosecute the Taliban in accordance with international law.

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According to the report, the Taliban have been holding, forcibly vanishing, and torturing women and girls who have participated in nonviolent demonstrations. Additionally, the Taliban forced them to sign "agreements" or "confessions" promising not to protest once more.

According to Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, what is taking place in Afghanistan is "a war against women" that amounts to "international crimes" that are "organised, widespread, and systematic."

She urged the international community to abolish "this system of gender oppression and persecution" without going into further detail.
Amnesty also recorded instances of women and girls being forcibly wed to Taliban members as well as attempts to forcibly wed them. According to the report, those who rejected these unions were "subjected to abduction, intimidation, threats, and torture."

The case of a 15-year-old girl who was forced to wed a Taliban official in August 2021 in the northeastern province of Takhar against the wishes of her family and that of a 33-year-old female journalist and social activist were both mentioned in the report.

According to Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, what is taking place in Afghanistan is "a war against women" that amounts to "international crimes" that are "organised, widespread, and systematic."

She urged the international community to abolish "this system of gender oppression and persecution" without going into further detail.
Amnesty also recorded instances of women and girls being forcibly wed to Taliban members as well as attempts to forcibly wed them. According to the report, those who rejected these unions were "subjected to abduction, intimidation, threats, and torture."

The case of a 15-year-old girl who was forced to wed a Taliban official in August 2021 in the northeastern province of Takhar against the wishes of her family and that of a 33-year-old female journalist and social activist were both mentioned in the report.

According to Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, what is taking place in Afghanistan is "a war against women" that amounts to "international crimes" that are "organised, widespread, and systematic."

She urged the international community to abolish "this system of gender oppression and persecution" without going into further detail.
Amnesty also recorded instances of women and girls being forcibly wed to Taliban members as well as attempts to forcibly wed them. According to the report, those who rejected these unions were "subjected to abduction, intimidation, threats, and torture."

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The case of a 15-year-old girl who was forced to wed a Taliban official in August 2021 in the northeastern province of Takhar against the wishes of her family and that of a 33-year-old female journalist and social activist were both mentioned in the report.