Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, human rights violations have surged, plunging the nation into a dire humanitarian crisis. Terrorist groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) have inflicted severe oppression on the Afghan people, with women and ethnic minorities bearing the brunt of these atrocities.
The Taliban's regime has severely restricted the lives of Afghan women, issuing over 50 decrees that curtail their freedom of movement, expression, and employment. Women face harsh penalties for defying these rules, including arrest and unsecured detention. Reports from the United Nations Human Rights Delegation highlight that women also endure targeted killings, enforced disappearances, and harassment.
The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan has documented over 1,600 cases of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture of journalists, human rights activists, and individuals associated with the previous government. Additionally, ISKP attacks have resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 civilians between August 2021 and May 2023, with 1,218 fatalities occurring in assaults on mosques and other religious sites.
The situation for Afghanistan's ethnic and religious minorities is equally grim. They face extrajudicial arrests, torture, public executions, and deportations at the hands of ISKP militants. The freezing of Afghanistan's state assets has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, leaving millions of Afghans in desperate need of aid.
In light of these escalating abuses, there is an urgent call for the Taliban to shift their focus from regional terrorism to the rehabilitation and welfare of the Afghan people. The international community, led by the United Nations, is urged to hold the Taliban accountable and demand immediate improvements in their governance.
