The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking control of Afghanistan five years ago, calling on governments to support accountability efforts and halt forced returns of Afghans facing serious risks.
In a report marking the fifth anniversary of the Taliban takeover,
HRW said the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s rights to
work, movement and participation in public life. It said the Taliban’s morality
police have raided workplaces, monitored public spaces and arbitrarily detained
women over alleged dress-code violations.
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where
girls are barred from education beyond the sixth grade, HRW said.
“The fifth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim
marker of the devastating costs of impunity,” Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan
researcher at HRW, said. She urged governments to move beyond statements of
concern and push for justice for serious crimes in Afghanistan, including what
she described as the crime against humanity of gender persecution.
HRW said the Taliban’s recent laws have further formalized
restrictions and discrimination. It cited a criminal procedure code issued Jan.
4, 2026, which defines Muslims exclusively according to Hanafi jurisprudence
and labels other religious groups, including Shia Muslims, as heretics. The
organization said the code also imposes strict punishments that could be used
to suppress dissent.
The rights group also said a new law governing preachers
further restricts religious expression by requiring religious clergy to adhere
to Hanafi jurisprudence.
According to HRW, the criminal procedure code recognizes
only “excessive” beating as domestic violence against women, leaving survivors
of other forms of abuse without adequate avenues for justice. It also said a
decree concerning judicial separation of spouses removed minimum-age
protections for girls’ marriage, increasing the risk of child marriage.
The Taliban have also intensified restrictions on freedom of
expression and censored local media outlets, HRW said. Journalists, women’s
rights defenders, civil society activists, academics, artists and other critics
have faced repression, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment,
the organization said.
HRW also warned that Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis has
worsened as donor governments have reduced aid. More than 17 million people, or
about 40% of the population, are projected to face acute food insecurity, while
the United Nations humanitarian response plan remains severely underfunded.
The organization said cuts in foreign assistance,
particularly from the United States, as well as reductions by the United
Kingdom and other donors, have forced humanitarian organizations to reduce
programs and services. Taliban restrictions on female aid workers, including requirements
that they be accompanied by a male guardian, have further limited women’s
access to livelihoods and humanitarian assistance, HRW said.
HRW also criticized the forced return of Afghans from Iran
and Pakistan and raised concerns over deportation policies by European
countries. It said governments should not forcibly return Afghans who face
risks of persecution, arbitrary detention, torture or other serious harm.
The rights group also said renewed cross-border attacks with
Pakistan had caused civilian casualties. According to HRW, the United Nations
reported that a Pakistani airstrike on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center in
Kabul on March 16 killed at least 269 civilians and injured more than 122.
HRW said the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution
on Oct. 6, 2025, establishing an independent mechanism to investigate past and
ongoing rights abuses in Afghanistan by all parties, including former
government and international forces.
The organization called on governments to ensure that the
mechanism becomes fully operational and receives sufficient resources, while
also supporting other accountability efforts, including the International
Criminal Court investigation and national proceedings under universal
jurisdiction.
“Afghans, especially women and girls, have endured five
years of repression and abuse,” Abbasi said, urging the international community
to halt deportations to Afghanistan, protect at-risk Afghans and maintain
humanitarian funding.
