UN Rapporteur Says Taliban Policies Against Women May Amount to Crimes
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has warned in his latest report that the Taliban authorities’ policies toward women and girls could amount to crimes against humanity in the form of gender-based persecution.
He said women and girls in Afghanistan continue to live under an institutionalised system of gender-based discrimination and repression, a situation he said has had severe consequences for their daily lives and mental health.
Bennett announced the report on Sunday, 15 September, in a post on X, saying its text would be presented the following day at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council. The report examines the human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
According to the report, the restrictions imposed by the Taliban authorities have not been limited to women and girls, but have also affected freedom of expression, the media, social media, religious freedom, privacy and the LGBTQ community.
In one section of the report, Bennett wrote: “Women and girls continue to suffer under an institutionalised system of gender-based discrimination and repression established by the de facto authorities.”
He also said he had received numerous reports of the worsening mental health of women and girls, describing the spread of despair, anxiety, hopelessness and social isolation among them.
In another part of the document, the UN special rapporteur referred to the Taliban’s “principles of separation of spouses” and described it as a move contrary to women’s rights and part of the tightening of restrictions on them.
The full text of the report is due to be presented at the UN Human Rights Council, a session that will continue for one month. As the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett is tasked with monitoring and reporting on the country’s human rights situation.
