RASC News Agency: The recently published UN report illuminates the alarming situation confronting Afghanistani women amid Taliban governance. It discloses that Taliban officials have taken to incarcerating women ostensibly to shield them from gender-based violence. The report underscores that before the Taliban assumed control in 2021, Afghanistan had 23 women’s support centers offering refuge to survivors of gender-based violence.
However, the UN report paints a somber picture, asserting that these support centers have ceased to exist. The Taliban administration officials have dismissed the necessity of such shelters, deeming them a Western concept. This revelation was communicated to the UN representative in Afghanistan during discussions with the Taliban-led administration. The absence of these critical institutions renders Afghanistani women susceptible and devoid of a secure refuge to escape the horrors of gender-based violence.
The report further reveals the unsettling practice of confining women to prison as a protective measure. This course of action is taken when women lack male relatives to stay with or when their male relatives are considered unsafe. To legitimize this approach, the Taliban has even invited local elders to witness the purported assurance of protection. The report draws parallels between the imprisonment of women and the confinement of drug addicts and homeless individuals in Kabul’s prisons.
Despite attempts to seek clarification from Taliban-led ministries regarding support for survivors of gender-based violence, no comments were provided by the group’s officials. This silence only deepens concerns about the plight of Afghanistani women under Taliban rule, as they confront escalating restrictions and are denied access to education, public spaces, and employment opportunities.
