Fulfilling an Ethnocentric Agenda
Taliban Abducts Women and Girls
By @AzadiJaan | Friday, Jan 26, 2024 | info@wearenrf.org
In December 2023, the Taliban's illegal regime deployed a staggering 13,000 morality police, raising further alarms about the ongoing and already deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. While it remains unclear whether this massive force is exclusively for Kabul province or extends throughout Afghanistan, its presence has already had a profound impact on the lives of the Kabul population, especially women and girls. The Taliban's actions not only violate fundamental human rights principles but also contribute to a climate of fear, insecurity, and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
Reports indicate that morality police officers are actively patrolling various districts in Kabul city, enforcing a strict and regressive moral code, and detaining dozens of women and girls who are allegedly not in compliance with their dress code. Their routine activities include:
Preventing women and girls from driving.
Prohibiting women and girls from traveling alone with cab drivers.
Restricting women and girls from going to parks.
Imposing dress codes and discouraging women and girls from wearing pants and short skirts.
Conducting preaching sessions in mosques to gather intelligence.
Enforcing mandatory attendance of prayers five times a day.
Compelling people to attend classes propagating misogynistic Taliban ideologies.
Coercing contributions for building new madrasas.
Collecting details about former Interpreters and ANDSF through local channels.
Issuing direct warnings to those who disobey their rules.
Forcing storekeepers to close their shops and attend mosque sessions.
Advising unveiled female faces to cover up.
In the past few weeks, many news outlets have reported distressing incidents of abductions and arrests of girls and women from the streets of Kabul by the Taliban group. In some of the shared videos, women Taliban police are seen dragging civilians to Taliban cars and beating them when they resist. Reports also indicate that these women are then physically assaulted and even raped inside Taliban prisons. Some of these detainees are released after their families pay an excessive amount of money as per the Taliban’s demands. Since January 1st of this year, many documented reports have emerged, showing arbitrary arrests taking place in areas such as Khair Khana, Dasht-e Barchi, Taimany in Kabul, and recent reports include new locations like Takhar and Daikuny provinces.
Earlier this month, The Guardian reported that some of these girls who were detained and lashed by the Taliban, were minors. “Girls young as 16 have been arrested across Kabul in the past week for violating Taliban hijab rules. The girls—detained in shopping centres, classes & street markets—were accused of “spreading & encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” & wearing makeup.”
READ FULL ARTICLE (THE GUARDIAN) HERE
Some sources reported that in just a few days, the number of detainees exceeded 300, with only 6 of them being released, and two of them committing suicide. A few days after the group detentions, new information emerged that the families of the detainees paid an excess amount of money to secure the release of their women and daughters. Rukhshana media quotes one of the released detainees: “They put me in a windowless room that looked like a barn. They called my family and asked for one million Afghanis (US$14,100) in exchange for my release. They threatened to kill me if this money wasn’t paid. My mother was crying and begging, 'Don’t hurt my daughter. We will arrange the money for sure.’” Zan Times quotes a similar situation, confirming the Taliban’s money scheme: “There are several reports that the Taliban have extorted money from the families of some of the arrestees. For poor Hazara families, such arrests can be financially devastating. Mursal* says that her family had to pay the equivalent of 2200 USD to the Taliban for her release, money that her father had to borrow from his relatives. Her family also handed over the land titles to family property.”
This is exactly two years after the Taliban’s spokesperson for the Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice explained during their dress code public awareness campaign that if a woman did not follow their dress code, it does not mean that they will be punished or beaten. However, they had indicated that their male family members would face some punishments, which included being imprisoned or taken to court. This week, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed the detention of women and girls, naming "bad hijab" as the reason for their detention. Despite these arrests and strict Taliban rules against protests, many women took to the streets to condemn this evil act of the Taliban group.
According to a recent UNAMA report, girls and women have been mainly abducted from Hazara and Tajik majority regions.
Heather Barr continues her advocacy for women of Afghanistan, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and addressing the challenges they face. She has called for Antonio Guterres to invite women of Afghanistan as full participants to the envoys meeting on Afghanistan reflects her commitment to ensuring that the voices of women are heard and considered in diplomatic discussions. Barr's consistent efforts highlight the need for accountability and meaningful inclusion of women in discussions that impact their lives and rights.
Following UNAMA's report on the detention of Tajik and Hazara women, the Head of Foreign Relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has called this action a "deep-rooted ethnocentric agenda" and assured the people that it will not go unanswered.
The leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan had previously stated in an interview that he officially submitted his written statement to the international community, requesting recognition of the ongoing gender apartheid and the Hazara genocide under Taliban rule. Following the arbitrary arrests and detentions, the NRF's leader, in addition to condemning it, has stated that the Taliban have signed their own document of destruction by detaining women and girls.
#ResistanceContinues
International organizations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (@UNAMAnews) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (@UNHumanRights), have expressed deep concern over these developments. UNAMA has called attention to the arrest and detention of women and girls, citing potential violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. Meanwhile, UNHumanRights has urged the reversal of policies and practices that infringe upon these basic rights.
As the Taliban tightens its grip on Afghanistan, the need for international intervention and advocacy becomes increasingly critical. The world watches with growing concern as the people of Afghanistan, particularly women and girls, face the harsh realities of life under the Taliban's gender apartheid. The implications of such actions are profound, with far-reaching consequences for women's rights and gender apartheid. The global community is now confronted with the urgent task of responding to this escalating human rights crisis.