RASC News Agency: Reports from the women’s prison in Herat, western Afghanistan, indicate that a significant number of incarcerated women and girls have been unjustly detained by the Taliban. A credible source in Herat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, informed RASC News Agency on Wednesday, May 15th, that 30 to 40 percent of the women and girls in the province have been imprisoned by the Taliban without committing any crimes.
The source elaborated that the Taliban, either deliberately or inadvertently, identify and then detain women and girls in Herat and other western provinces of Afghanistan. According to the source, a large portion of the imprisoned women and girls, aged between 11 and 50, are suffering from severe psychological and emotional distress.
The source emphasized that if the local and judicial Taliban authorities do not address these cases, the current concerns surrounding this situation will intensify. Additionally, another source from within the women’s prison in Herat reported to RASC that Taliban officials are mistreating the female inmates. The source described the conditions as so deplorable that the future of these incarcerated women is at severe risk.
Rape, beatings, torture, lack of adequate food, and overall oppression are among the numerous challenges faced by the women and girls imprisoned in Herat. The source mentioned that the majority of the women and girls are anxious about the lack of attention given to their cases by the Taliban authorities. The source further noted that if the Taliban fail to address these cases, the inmates will be forced to spend their youthful years in prison.
One of the women in Herat’s prison, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told RASC News Agency that the Taliban not only subject the inmates to sexual violence but also exploit their beauty by enslaving them. She added that since the Taliban seized power in Herat, many women and girls have been detained without ever being tried in court.
She continued that many of these inmates have no one outside the prison to advocate for their release. She concluded that the presence of such women in prison leads to their own and their families’ ruin, leaving them no choice but to succumb to illicit demands.
These revelations come amidst previous reports of Taliban members mistreating female prisoners in various provinces.
