RASC News Agency: Sources from Helmand province reported on Thursday, March 27, that a local Taliban commander has been accused of rape for the third time. According to sources, the commander had previously been implicated in the sexual assault of two women and is now accused of raping his own bodyguard’s wife. A local source revealed that he was formerly stationed in Lashkargah and now serves in the Taliban’s police force. Residents of Helmand have long witnessed sexual violence and exploitation at the hands of Taliban fighters, yet fear and repression leave victims with no avenue for justice.
Reports from the province indicate that sexual harassment, forced marriages, and intimidation of women have intensified. However, with no advocacy groups or independent legal institutions, victims remain powerless to seek redress. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan’s legal and social framework has been systematically weaponized against women. The ban on education, employment, and public participation is only a surface-level manifestation of the deeper crisis one marked by widespread sexual violence, abuse in detention centers, and forced marriages.
Previous reports have documented sexual violence in Taliban-controlled prisons, where women have testified to repeated assaults. Yet many remain silent out of fear of reprisals and distrust in the Taliban’s judicial system. Afghan women who have managed to escape and seek asylum abroad have also revealed accounts of rape by Taliban members while in detention. Meanwhile, the Taliban continue to arbitrarily detain women under various pretexts, with persistent allegations of sexual abuse in custody.
Women’s rights organizations have raised alarm over the deteriorating conditions for Afghanistani women, warning that Afghanistan has become an unlivable space for them. As systemic sexual violence and repression escalate, the Taliban’s rule poses an existential threat to women, reducing their very existence to a struggle for survival.
