Taliban Officials Sending Women To Prisons To Save Them From Gender-Based Violence: UN Report

Afghan women are being sent to prison by Taliban officials as a means of safeguarding them from gender-based violence, according to a UN report released on Thursday.

Prior to the Taliban's takeover in 2021, Afghanistan had 23 government-run women's protection centers where victims of gender-based violence could find sanctuary. According to the UN report, these centres no longer exist.

Officials from the Taliban-led administration told the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that there was no need for such shelters or that they were a Western concept.

As per the report, the Taliban incarcerate women who lack male relatives to stay with or whose male relatives are deemed dangerous.

It also mentions that the Taliban authorities solicit pledges or affidavits from male relatives, ensuring that they won't inflict harm on their female kin. This process often involves local elders who are called upon to bear witness to these assurances.

Women are sent to prison for their protection "akin to how prisons have been used to accommodate drug addicts and homeless people in Kabul," the report said.

Since the Taliban seized control in 2021, the freedom of Afghan women and girls has been significantly restricted, confining them largely to their homes. Their access to education has been limited to only up until the sixth grade, and they are prohibited from attending university or going to public spaces such as parks.

Moreover, most employment opportunities are closed off to them. For travel exceeding 72 km, they are mandated to be accompanied by a male chaperone and adhere to a prescribed dress code.

In July, a directive from the Taliban mandated the shutdown of all beauty salons, which were among the last few spaces women could visit beyond their homes or familial surroundings.

For a long time, Afghanistan has been considered one of the worst places in the world to be born female.

Before the Taliban seized control, cultural factors and various other reasons had already left millions of girls without access to education. Issues such as child marriage, violence, and abuse were prevalent.

Human rights organizations have issued warnings that the reign of the Taliban could lead to an increase in violence towards women and girls, and completely obliterate any existing legal safeguards for them.

According to the UN report, women have been barred from employment in the judiciary or law enforcement sectors. They are prohibited from handling cases involving gender-based violence and are only permitted to report to work at the discretion of their male superiors.