Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, presented his report at the sixty-third session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), stating that the Taliban have gradually enacted and enforced discriminatory policies and measures based on gender. According to him, these measures have had severe consequences for the rights and freedoms of women and girls and have eliminated nearly every aspect of their public life.
The report states that the codification and institutionalization of these discriminatory policies has become more pronounced over the past two years, particularly with the passage of the so called Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in 2024, the criminal procedure code for courts in 2026, and the new regulation on marital separation in 2026. According to the report, although the implementation of these policies has not been uniform across provinces, the Taliban’s Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been applied more systematically, specifically aimed at controlling the most fundamental aspects of citizens’ lives.
The Special Rapporteur on human rights said that over the past five years, the Taliban have taken measures that have led to control over fundamental aspects of the lives of women and girls, including freedom of movement, access to education and employment, freedom of expression, and their participation in public life.
According to the report, the Taliban initially announced that women would not be appointed to senior positions, but gradually restricted women’s participation in public life more broadly. According to Bennett, in December 2021 the Taliban instructed male drivers to refuse to transport women who did not observe the group’s required dress code or who were traveling more than 72 kilometers without a mahram. According to the report, in March 2022 the Taliban also barred women from boarding domestic and international flights without a mahram.
The report states that in May 2023, the Taliban ordered women not to leave their homes without a reason and required them to observe “proper hijab,” preferably by wearing a chadari. According to the report, these measures were announced alongside restrictions on women’s access to parks, public baths, gyms, sports clubs, and amusement parks.
Bennett said in the report that these restrictions on freedom of movement have had far-reaching consequences for nearly every aspect of women’s lives, even limiting their access to health care services and putting their lives at risk.
The Special Rapporteur on human rights said that girls’ education has been affected by Taliban policies and severely restricted. According to the report, on August 29, 2021, the Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education announced that mixed gender education at universities was banned. The report states that on September 12 of the same year, the Taliban announced that women and girls must be separated from men, and that women were also required to observe hijab.
According to the report, shortly afterward the Taliban’s Ministry of Education announced that, as of September 18, 2021, only boys’ secondary schools would reopen and only male teachers would be permitted to teach. Girls’ secondary schools, whose closure had been described as temporary, did not reopen, and this promise was broken again in March 2022. As a result, girls above the sixth grade were forced to stay home, and girls’ secondary schools have remained closed ever since.
The report states that these schools have not reopened to date, and that on December 20, 2022, the Taliban “suspended” women’s right to attend university, and female professors and students were also barred from working and studying. According to the report, in late June 2023, teacher training centers (Dar al Muallimin) were informed that they would soon be closed. Additionally, on December 2, 2024, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health issued a directive barring women from studying at medical and health science institutions, which had previously been exempt from the ban on women’s and girls’ education. According to Bennett, this directive effectively halted the training of female health professionals, including nurses, midwives, and laboratory technicians.
The Special Rapporteur said that the Taliban have gradually adopted policies that have severely restricted the space for women to work. According to the report, in August 2022, female government employees, except those working in “essential” roles, were told to stay home. In July 2023, the Taliban’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reportedly dismissed 469 female kindergarten teachers, administrators, and staff.
According to the findings of Bennett’s report, in May 2024 the Taliban issued a decree reducing the monthly salaries of female government employees who had been forced to stay home to 5,000 Afghanis, equivalent to about 70 US dollars, regardless of their educational qualifications and work experience. According to Bennett, these women’s employment contracts were later terminated in 2026.
Meanwhile, in the non-profit sector, in December 2022 the Taliban suspended women’s right to work at national and international non-governmental organizations. In April 2023, the Taliban also informed the United Nations (UN) that women would not be allowed to enter its offices or work there.
According to the report, since September 2025, the Taliban have actively prevented women from entering UN offices across Afghanistan. Also, in October 2023, women were barred from holding managerial positions in the non-governmental sector. The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced on June 26, 2023, that women’s beauty salons and beauty services for women would be banned starting July 25. According to reports, this decision affected roughly 12,000 businesses and led to the loss of jobs for about 60,000 women.
The report states that the Taliban have consolidated and institutionalized the restrictions imposed on citizens through the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to the report, this law has affected various aspects of the lives of Afghanistan’s citizens, including men, boys, ethnic and religious minorities, people of diverse gender identities, and marginalized communities, but it has specifically targeted women and girls and has severely restricted their freedom and independence.
The Special Rapporteur on human rights said that the Taliban’s Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has institutionalized restrictions previously imposed on women, including the requirement of a mahram for travel, mandatory hijab, and the segregation of women and men in public spaces. According to the report, women may be punished for “raising their voices” or singing outside the home.
The report states that women have been required to cover their bodies in front of “non-believing” women, and adult women and men who are not related to one another have been barred from looking at each other’s bodies and faces. The report’s findings show that, compared to previous decrees, the Taliban have pursued a more coherent and systematic enforcement of the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice nationwide by establishing dedicated provincial offices to monitor its implementation and granting these offices broad enforcement powers.
The report also states that the Taliban have repealed the constitution and several laws from the previous government, particularly laws protecting women from violence. According to the report, this has forced many women and girls to return to previous environments of abuse and violence or face the risk of homelessness.
The report states that Taliban policies are based on a binary definition of gender and have discriminatory consequences for people of diverse gender identities. According to the report, the Taliban criminalize and punish sexual and gender minorities. Also, in August 2022, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health announced that gender affirming surgeries were banned.
Measures Related to Due Process and the Rule of Law
The Special Rapporteur on human rights said that over the past five years, the Taliban have dissolved or fundamentally altered the legislative and judicial structures of the former Islamic Republic era, which had played an important role in protecting human rights and preventing their violation. According to the report, in July 2023 the Taliban dissolved the Attorney General’s Office and transformed it into the “Directorate for Monitoring and Enforcement of Decrees and Orders,” a body tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Taliban Supreme Leader’s orders. Some of the Attorney General’s Office’s former responsibilities, including conducting investigations, have been transferred to Taliban courts and intelligence officials. In the judicial sector, the Taliban have removed all judges appointed during the Islamic Republic era from their positions, including about 250 female judges, who made up nearly 10 percent of all judges.
The report states that in November 2021 the Taliban took control of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) and revoked its authority to issue law licenses and defend lawyers’ rights. According to the report, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice continues to issue law licenses, but women are not permitted to participate in the licensing process. In addition, the role of defense lawyers has been severely restricted, a measure the report says has undermined the principle of due process.
Bennett’s report states that in September 2021 the Taliban replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Also, in May 2022, they dissolved the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), which had played an important role during the Islamic Republic era in pursuing accountability for human rights violations and supporting victims and survivors.
Death Penalty and Corporal Punishment
The report states that since August 2021, the Taliban have resumed public executions and corporal punishments, including public flogging. According to the report, at least 12 people have been executed across Afghanistan over the past five years, and corporal punishments have been carried out not only for crimes such as murder and theft but also for what the Taliban call “moral” offenses, including extramarital sexual relations and same sex relationships, a practice inconsistent with Afghanistan’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The number of sentences issued in 2025 also exceeded the combined total of the previous four years. Although most of those flogged have been men, women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the criminalization of extramarital sexual relations, as they are often accused of such relations based on little or no evidence, according to the report.
The report also states that penalties have been imposed for offenses such as “fleeing home” or helping a woman flee home. According to the Special Rapporteur, these restrictions create particular risks for lesbian, gay, transgender, and other sexual and gender minority individuals.
The report states that the Taliban have not issued any written document granting “general amnesty” to former members of Afghanistan’s national defense and security forces and other Islamic Republic-era officials. Nevertheless, senior Taliban officials, including the group’s spokesperson, have repeatedly claimed that such an amnesty exists. Despite this, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented the killing of at least 261 former members of Afghanistan’s national defense and security forces between August 2021 and September 2025.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
According to the report’s findings, by emphasizing the Hanafi school of jurisprudence as the sole basis for law, the Taliban have restricted the space available for followers of religious minorities to live and practice their faith. According to the report, in January 2024 the Taliban’s Supreme Court issued a circular on family disputes stating that a woman’s divorce or legal separation from her husband would only be recognized as valid if it conformed with at least one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. The report adds that this circular effectively disregards Shia Jafari jurisprudence and affects women belonging to religious minorities, particularly Shia Muslims.
The Special Rapporteur, emphasizing that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right requiring protection, stated that this freedom must not become a tool for discrimination against specific groups in society, including women and girls.
Restrictions on Freedom of Expression and Assembly
The report states that since August 2021, the Taliban have taken various measures to control public speech and social narratives. In September 2021, the group announced an 11-point directive emphasizing adherence to journalistic principles and prohibiting the publication of material contrary to Islam or offensive toward the group’s officials, although the concepts and standards behind these prohibitions have not been clearly defined.
According to the report, the Taliban’s Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has imposed broad restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly the freedom to publish and receive information. This law bars media outlets and news organizations from publishing reports that officials determine to be contrary to Islamic law or religion, or that could “demean” or “insult” Muslims. The law also emphasizes a ban on publishing images of living beings and requires media outlets to refrain from broadcasting or publishing such images.
The report states that in September 2024, the Taliban banned live broadcasts of political programs and required media outlets to air only pre-recorded and approved programming. In June 2025, another policy was announced by the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, imposing various content restrictions and establishing an oversight committee to review and approve political content, including prior to publication in the media.
According to the report, the Taliban have also taken measures to gradually restrict women’s presence in the media. In addition to general restrictions against women, female journalists face additional constraints in carrying out their professional duties, including being barred from appearing on programs hosted by male presenters and being required to comply with stricter dress codes, including covering their faces.
Restrictions on the Right to Culture
The report states that the Taliban have also taken measures to restrict Afghanistan’s cultural diversity and traditions. Under the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, traditional celebrations such as Nowruz and Yalda Night, both of which are listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, have been formally banned.
The Special Rapporteur said that the Taliban have also reinstated the ban on music and are working to prevent the playing and broader dissemination of most forms of music. According to the report, singing, playing musical instruments, and public musical performances, except for religious purposes, have been banned. In June 2023, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also banned the playing of music at wedding ceremonies in Kabul.
The report states that the Taliban’s Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, passed in 2024, has legally codified these restrictions. Under this law, Morality Police are required to prevent music from being played or heard in gathering places and homes. Additionally, drivers of commercial vehicles are barred from playing music through devices installed in their vehicles.
According to reports, some radio stations have been forced to shut down because of music broadcasts, including three radio stations in Khost province in 2024. The Taliban have also restricted other art forms by suppressing or imposing strict controls on artists, actors, and poets.
Bennett said that in September 2021, a senior Taliban official announced that women would not be permitted to participate in sports activities, stating that the group did not view women’s participation in sports as appropriate or necessary. Since then, the ban on women using parks and gyms, combined with movement restrictions, has made their participation in sports and physical exercise nearly impossible. According to Bennett, these restrictions violate women’s right to participate in sports as part of cultural life, as well as their right to access social spaces designated for women. He added that women’s sporting activities aimed at countering this situation have also been suppressed, and that many female athletes have been forced to leave Afghanistan out of concern for harassment and persecution and to continue their professional careers, and now face challenges abroad such as a lack of financial resources and difficulty participating in international competitions.
The report states that in August 2024, the Special Mission sent letters to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressing concern that some members of the Olympic movement appeared to lack the willingness or capacity to fulfill their organizational commitments to guarantee equal and non discriminatory participation of women and girls in sports, at a time when the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have systematically denied women and girls the ability to participate in sports.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
گزارش تازه بنت؛ طالبان آزادیهای زنان را سیستماتیک محدود کردهاند
