UN: Taliban Increasing Pressure on Women and Former Security Forces
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed deep concern over the increasing restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women’s basic rights and former military personnel.
In a report released on Tuesday, October 27, UNAMA noted that Taliban authorities in provinces such as Uruzgan, Paktika, and Kandahar have instructed doctors and healthcare centers not to treat female patients without a male guardian. According to the mission, Taliban’s morality police have issued these directives to clinic and hospital personnel in a warning tone.
In Kandahar province, the Taliban’s health department has also ordered a ban on the employment of women in non-governmental health centers. Additionally, the report states that male dentists have been prohibited from treating female patients, further limiting access to healthcare for women across various regions.
The report also details alarming incidents of violence against former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. In the past three months, UNAMA confirmed that at least 14 former military personnel were killed by Taliban forces, while 21 others were arbitrarily detained. The report also documents three instances of torture.
It highlights that many of those detained had recently returned from neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan. For example, on September 29, the Taliban’s counter-terrorism unit arrested a group of former soldiers near the border, with no details provided about the charges against them.
UNAMA also notes that the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education continues, with restrictions entering a new phase. In early August, the Taliban shut down three madrassas (Islamic schools) for girls in Kabul because they enrolled students above the sixth grade and taught subjects like mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology.
In Badakhshan province, Taliban authorities have instructed schools not to allow girls over the age of 13 to attend classes. Similarly, in Paktika, the provincial education department has banned girls above sixth grade from participating in school activities, a restriction that has since been implemented province-wide.
UNAMA’s latest findings underline the escalating violations of basic rights faced by women and former military personnel—a development that has drawn serious concern from the international community about the Taliban regime’s ongoing oppressive and discriminatory governance.
