The Hasht-e Subh Daily’s investigation into the situation of female prisoners across five western provinces of Afghanistan reveals alarming conditions. Women detainees face arbitrary arrests on “baseless” charges and endure torture in Taliban-run prisons. Presently, approximately 340 women are incarcerated in these facilities across the five provinces, primarily accused of making phone calls to men. The prisons exhibit inappropriate conditions, poor nutrition, hygiene deficiencies, limited medical care, and instances of misconduct by guards. Female inmates lack professional female supervision, are shackled during medical transfers, and have restricted communication with their families. These challenges underscore the deprivation of necessities within the prison system. The report highlights that all female prisons are overseen by Taliban military commanders, with no female involvement in management. To protect identities, pseudonyms are used in the report due to security concerns.
According to the findings of this report, in none of the western provinces including Herat, Ghor, Badghis, Farah, and Nimroz, there exists an independent and standardized prison specifically designated for women. Herat province, which is better equipped with government facilities for various governmental institutions compared to other western provinces, also lacks a suitable prison for housing women. In these prisons, women are mostly detained on charges related to communication with men, and escaping from home, and some are accused of crimes such as theft and murder.
Women’s Prison in Herat Province
Around 250 to 300 women are incarcerated in Herat Women’s Prison. This prison was managed by Ms. Alia Azizi, a female police officer, from 2019 until the fall of the republic. A week after the fall of the republic, at the request of the Taliban’s General Commander of Prisons for Herat, Ms. Azizi returned to her job and since then, she has gone missing. Since then, her fate remains unknown. Following Ms. Azizi’s disappearance, this prison has been under the management of a Taliban military commander.
Bibi Hoora (pseudonym) is 24 years old. She was imprisoned on charges of fleeing from home along with her parents. Taliban released her parents from prison after a week, but Bibi Hoora was kept for two months. Upon her husband’s consent, the Taliban released her from Herat Women’s Prison.
Bibi Hoora says, “I’ve been married for six years. Whenever we had arguments with my husband, he would beat me. This time he beat me severely. I left home and went to my mother’s house. I stayed there overnight. In the morning, rangers came, and my husband with three Taliban militants took me, my father, and my mother to the security command of the district and then to the Security Zone Office. They released my father and mother a week later, but they kept me in prison.” Mrs. Hoora adds, “Even though my husband knew I was upset and would return home again, still he sent me to prison. When I asked him why he did it, he said, ‘A woman speaks, but a man decides!’ He continued, ‘You must understand that this is not the republic era where you can raise your voice and make trouble whenever you want!'” Bibi Hoora emphasizes that she spent two months in Taliban prison due to her husband’s complaint until her husband, with the mediation of her husband’s brother, consented to her release from prison. Hoora says that now her husband treats her like a “slave” and she has no choice but to remain silent.
Accusations of extramarital relationships are another reason why women are being sent to Taliban prisons. This accusation can stem from a simple meeting or a phone call. Many women in Taliban-controlled areas of western Afghanistan are imprisoned on this charge.
Fareeda (pseudonym) is a young woman who was arrested during a phone call with a man. The man she is accused of having an extramarital relationship with is a tailor. This tailor has been sewing clothes for Fareeda’s family for several years. When Fareeda was discussing her family’s clothing with him, she was apprehended by Taliban fighters. Based on this accusation, the Taliban imprisoned her for six months.
Fareeda explains, “I went to Lelami Road with my mother and sister to buy fabric. My mother and sister went to the jeweler’s. I told my mother that while you are at the jeweler’s, I’ll take the clothes to the tailor and come back. We’ve been getting our clothes sewn at this tailor’s for years. I had his number saved, so I called to ask if he was in the shop and if he had time to work on my clothes because a wedding was coming up soon. The tailor said he had too many clothes lined up and couldn’t sew ours. I argued with him, saying we’ve been your loyal customers for years; you should sew our clothes.”
The young woman continues, “The tailor agreed and told me to bring my clothes. Since we knew each other, I was comfortable joking with him. As soon as I reached Ferdowsi Market, I hung up the phone and entered the market. When I reached the door of the tailor’s shop, a Taliban member stood in front of me and said, ‘Shameless! Prostitute! Move!’ I was stunned by what was happening. Then a woman wearing a mask and a burqa grabbed my hand and forcibly put me in a car and took me to their security zone center.”
Fareeda recounts bitter and painful experiences of the ugly behavior and speech of Taliban fighters in their security zone center and prisons. She says, “With every Taliban I encountered, besides insults and humiliation, there was nothing else. All the women imprisoned like me on charges of extramarital relationships, whenever they faced a Taliban member, their first and last word was ‘prostitute.'”
The young woman narrates the Taliban’s behavior with female prisoners, “In the interrogation by the Taliban, one day a very angry Taliban interrogator said that the Americans had addicted you to ‘prostitution; besides killing, you won’t repent for anything else.” Fareeda, who has been released from Taliban prison after six months, says being imprisoned on charges of “illicit” relationships has tarnished her life. After spending two months at her maternal uncle’s house upon release, she says her brother swore to kill her, but eventually, with her maternal uncle’s insistence and mediation, she was allowed to return home and since then, lived as an unforgivable criminal.
The lack of access to defense lawyers in criminal cases is another challenge facing accused women. The Taliban have deprived women accused in criminal cases of having defense lawyers. Only in rare cases can accused women who have recognition or intermediaries among the Taliban have defense lawyers.
Nabila (pseudonym) is a mother whose daughter has been imprisoned on charges of discord and assaulting her husband. She says that despite many difficulties, she managed to find a defense lawyer for her daughter through mediation and intermediaries among the Taliban. However, the defense lawyer has become a bigger headache for Nabila’s daughter. The defense lawyer not only failed to defend Laileema (pseudonym) in the Taliban court but also faced additional serious allegations.
Laileema’s mother says, “Through considerable effort, we managed to secure a defense lawyer for Laileema with the help of a mullah who was once our neighbor and now serves in the Taliban regime. However, the outcome was disastrous. During the second visit of the defense lawyer to see Laileema in prison, authorities unjustly and cruelly arrested him, alleging his involvement in an illicit relationship with Laileema.”
Nabila, with tearful eyes, adds, “I swear on the Quran, they falsely accused my poor daughter. She is constantly thinking of her death, disgusted with life, and these ruthless oppressors have unfairly accused her.” According to Nabila, Laileema’s defense lawyer was also in prison for a while but is now free.
In addition to the lack of access to fair trials and defense lawyers, the absence of a healthy food system has turned the lives of imprisoned women in Taliban prisons into a nightmare. Corruption in the Taliban’s financial and administrative structures has prevented prisoners, despite assistance from international organizations, from accessing proper nutrition.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) oversees food supplies at the women’s prison in Herat province. However, female prisoners report that Taliban authorities interfere with and control the food procurement and distribution process, resulting in an inadequate food system similar to that in men’s prisons. These prisoners call for international human rights organizations, particularly the ICRC, to monitor the aid distribution process.
Halima (pseudonym), one of the imprisoned women, says, “The food in the women’s prison was terrible. They claimed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was providing the food supplies, but we didn’t see any evidence that the food was good. We only had a piece of bread and water to satisfy our hunger out of necessity.” According to Halima, most of the time, the women prisoners are given spoiled food and stale bread.
Meanwhile, an internal source from the Taliban prison in Herat province confirms to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid in this prison is misappropriated by Taliban authorities. According to this source, even half of the aid provided does not reach the women prisoners.
Women’s Prison in Nimruz Province
Between 10 to 15 female prisoners are held in Nimruz Province Women’s Prison. Located outside the city, the prison is about 10 kilometers from Zaranj City, the province’s center. It shares a compound with the men’s prison. Some of the women imprisoned here are accused members of ISIS.
These female inmates are relatives of individuals who were killed last year in a several-hour clash with Taliban fighters in the Masoomabad area of Zaranj city, on charges of being affiliated with ISIS. Reports from Nimruz Province Women’s Prison indicate that, in addition to inappropriate and humiliating behavior by prison guards and the deprivation of prisoners’ contact with their families, they face serious health issues. The lack of access to healthcare services within the prison sometimes necessitates transferring female prisoners to city health centers for treatment.
Aziza Rahmani (pseudonym) was imprisoned in Nimruz Women’s Prison for more than six months. She says she was falsely accused, leading to her imprisonment. Rahmani narrates the sorrowful and shocking experiences faced by female prisoners. Aziza Rahmani says, “I went to the city with my mother. My phone was out of charge, so I went to a mobile shop and asked the shopkeeper to charge it for a few minutes. The shopkeeper said, ‘Don’t cause trouble for us, the Taliban are patrolling.’ I insisted, and he agreed. My phone was charging for a few minutes. I was waiting when two Taliban members entered and asked what I was doing there. I said my phone needed charging, so I stayed. They pressed a rifle against my chest and told me to leave, calling me names. They hit the shopkeeper in the face and accused us of running a brothel.”
According to Aziza’s account, women are subjected to derogatory and insulting language from the beginning of the accusation to the trial process and even inside the prison by Taliban authorities. Female prison guards, who have been serving in this prison since the previous regime, are ridiculed and insulted by Taliban fighters. Aziza highlights the lack of hygiene and proper healthcare services as another issue affecting female prisoners.
However, an undisclosed source from Nimruz Women’s Prison, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, confirms that the healthcare clinic at Nimruz Women’s Prison, which covers both male and female sections, lacks sufficient facilities and provides basic healthcare services. According to the source, Nimruz Women’s Prison currently lacks female healthcare personnel, so female prisoners facing complicated health challenges are transferred to medical centers in the city of Zaranj.
The source states, “We don’t have enough staff. Without specialists, what can a nurse do for a patient? Currently, there are no female doctors or nurses in the prison. When women get sick, we have to transfer them to the city, and we’re forced to handcuff them. When we go to the clinic, crowds gather around us.”
Aziza recounts the dire situation of the healthcare center at Nimruz Prison. She says, “Inside the prison, they only have medication for headaches. There’s no female doctor, so who do you tell if there’s a women’s health issue such as menstruation? I had my menstruation, and severe bleeding, and no matter what, I couldn’t tell a male doctor. By the third day, I was severely anemic, and I collapsed.”
The woman, quoting another inmate, recounts, “A female prisoner said she was bleeding, so they took me to the city hospital. They put me in a separate room and chained one of my hands to the bed frame. Patients from other rooms would come, looking at me with disdain and mockery. I felt so embarrassed that I wished for death every moment. I begged the doctor to discharge me sooner.”
Aziza states that the humiliation and mockery by other patients and the disdainful looks from the hospital staff represent the experiences of all female prisoners transferred outside the prison for treatment. She remarks on the lack of cleanliness in Nimruz Women’s Prison, saying, “Where was the cleanliness? We cleaned all the prison toilets. When the inspection team arrived, they provided new clothes to prisoners and cleaned the washrooms and utensils. At other times, there was a foul smell. We could tell the inspection team was coming as soon as the cleaning started.”
Aziza adds that most of the time, sewage pits were forcibly emptied by male prisoners. One day, during sewage pit cleaning, two inmates fell into it and lost their lives. In that incident, Taliban authorities faced no investigation or accountability whatsoever.
Women’s Prison in Badghis Province
Findings indicate that the Taliban’s women’s prison in Badghis lacks capacity. Currently, between 25 to 40 women are imprisoned there under Taliban control. In terms of location, charges against inmates, dietary regime, health services, and the treatment of prisoners, the situation in Badghis prison is similar to that of Herat and Nimruz prisons.
In addition to the challenges above, another issue in Badghis prison is the establishment of an extramarital relationship between a Taliban official and a female inmate. A source from Badghis Provincial Prison confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that such an incident occurred. According to him, a Taliban official has been accused of engaging in an extramarital relationship with a female prisoner. The source adds, “One of the prison staff committed this mistake, but we, the Taliban, handed him over to the law. He wasn’t a Taliban member; he was one of the staff who had been working in the prison since the republic and committed this misconduct, and thankfully, he was held accountable under the law.”
The absence of professional female guards is one of the challenges faced by all women’s prisons in the western provinces. Nafisa, a young girl who has completed up to the tenth grade, is detained in Badghis province on charges of having an extramarital relationship. She complains about the inappropriate behavior and misconduct of Taliban prison guards.
Nafisa says, “Taliban prison guards understand nothing about the law. They believe prisoners should always be punished, so they behave rudely and say whatever comes to their minds to the inmates.” She adds that most staff in this prison are unaware of their duties and how to treat prisoners properly, which leads to violence and inappropriate behavior towards female inmates.
Women’s Prison in Ghor Province
Currently, there are 12 women imprisoned in the women’s prison in Ghor on charges of drug trafficking, fleeing from home, anti-Taliban propaganda, and having extramarital relationships.
Belqis (pseudonym) is a 21-year-old woman from Ghor province. She has spent eight months in the Taliban women’s prison in this province on charges of fleeing from home. Belqis, like many others in Ghor women’s prison, complains about the deprivation of female prisoners from family contact. She says that during the eight months, she has only been able to see her mother three times.
Belqis adds, “When I was detained, none of my family members visited me for up to five months. After that, my mother convinced my brothers and father to allow her to visit me. During this time, my mother managed to visit me three times.” She continues, “My mother had begged the prison commander dozens of times for a meeting, but only three times, thanks to a neighbor’s mediation, did she manage to visit me.”
Roqia (pseudonym) is one of the young girls from Ghor who has been detained arbitrarily on charges of sending a text message to a local Taliban official in the province. However, to save their local commander from a trial, the Taliban have turned Roqia’s accusation from a chat on the phone into forging documents. Roqia, accused of exchanging text messages with a Taliban member, is sent to prison, while the accused Taliban commander continues with his activities.
One of the former civil activists in Ghor province, who knows Roqia closely, considers the accusation of forging documents to be false and explains the essence of the matter as follows: “The reality is that Roqia had a discussion with the official of this department regarding a work-related issue. During the conversation, the Taliban official turns the conversation to personal matters and makes seductive proposals to Roqia. This Taliban official, alongside offering friendship, implicitly threatens Roqia if she discloses his words. Roqia, out of fear, continues to chat with him. She is caught when her phone is captured by the Taliban criminal law enforcement personnel.”
The civil activist stated that upon discovering exchanged messages between the local official and Roqia, Taliban law enforcement personnel tried to arrest their group commander. However, to avoid embarrassment for their local department, they accused Roqia of forging documents. The activist claims that the Taliban have also detained an employee of this institution for allegedly collaborating with Roqia in document forgery. Roqia has been in Taliban prison for nearly three months.
Women’s Prison in Farah Province
Between 15 to 20 women are imprisoned in Farah Province Women’s Prison on charges of drug trafficking, murder, and illicit relationships. Female prisoners in this province face similar challenges to those in four other western provinces.
The lack of access to a defense lawyer in criminal cases has led to 19-year-old Malika (pseudonym) saying things that worsen her case due to her unawareness of legal rules. Malika is accused of murdering her husband. She admits to accepting everything the Taliban judge said during the trial due to shame. She didn’t defend herself during the investigation and trial, resulting in a harsher punishment.
Malika recounts, “When I was arrested, they took me to the criminal section. On the way and inside the detention center, the Taliban insulted me. When they questioned me inside, if I hesitated to answer, they would insult me, which made me very embarrassed.”
While she describes the behavior of Taliban judges compared to their fighters as milder, she has not been immune to their insults and humiliations either. Malika adds, “The judges were better than the commanders’ staff; they didn’t insult much, but they weren’t impartial in their judgments. I was illiterate. The judge tried to extract words from me that I had never said. I was very tired of the court sessions and felt very embarrassed because I was a woman surrounded by men, each one making comments and insults. That’s why whenever the judge asked, ‘Did you do this? Did you do that?’ I would just say yes to get out of the trial sooner.”
The lack of access for female prisoners to defense lawyers has led to women having weak defense statements. This female prisoner in Farah says, “Despite my family’s efforts to get a defense lawyer for me, the Taliban court did not accept it. I had to be my lawyer, and they wrote whatever they wanted in my case.” According to Malika, under such circumstances, the Taliban court has sentenced her to long-term imprisonment.
Nazifa (pseudonym) is another woman from Farah who has spent three months in Farah Women’s Prison on drug trafficking charges, which she did not commit. She was arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban during a raid on her house where they found one kilogram of narcotics, specifically opium. Later, it became evident that the drugs belonged to one of her brother-in-law’s friends, who had hidden them in her house without her knowledge or consent.
Nazifa explains, “A friend of my brother-in-law, who was from Helmand province, had sold a motorcycle to someone and, instead of money, had been given one kilogram of opium. The man from Helmand had told my brother-in-law that one kilogram wasn’t worth taking to Helmand and suggested he keep them hidden. He said he would take a few more kilos later. Since my brother-in-law’s house was in the district, he brought them [the drugs] and placed them inside a box without informing me. A few days later, his brother had an accident in Iran. He went to Iran. After a month, one day, a group of Taliban raided my house and found the opium. They asked where your husband is. I said he was in Iran, and they called their command center. A woman also came, they took me back to the commander’s office, and then to the women’s prison. I was imprisoned for three months.”
According to Nazifa, after her brother-in-law learned about his arrest, he returned to Afghanistan and confessed at the security commander’s office of the province that the drugs belonged to his friend. He had hidden them in their house without Nazifa’s knowledge. Following his confession, Nazifa was released from Taliban prison after serving three months.
Taliban’s Women’s Prisons in Districts
Despite the Taliban’s failure to establish even the most basic standards for women’s prisons in any of the provinces of western Afghanistan, findings by the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that the group incarcerates women in a primitive manner in locations such as security towers or separate rooms without any facilities.
Hamida (pseudonym), a 21-year-old imprisoned on charges of extramarital relations, has recently been released after three months of confinement in one of Herat’s districts, the name of which is not mentioned due to security concerns. She reveals that during this period, she contemplated suicide dozens of times, but her guard prevented her from doing so.
Hamida recounts, “I was confined in a district tower for three months. Two older Taliban members were my guards. It was very tough. There was no toilet nearby. The district lavatory was far. Whenever I went, the guard accompanied me. The Taliban guard also watched me closely, which was very humiliating. Every time I went and returned, I was filled with shame.”
She adds, “Bathing posed significant challenges. I could only go to the bath after my menstruation ended, accompanied by my mother. The bath was located inside the corridor of the district office, and the district governor had specified that only on bathing days, my mother should be allowed to accompany me.”
Hamida declares, “I decided several times to find a way to end my life, but the guard wouldn’t let me, and he would tell my mother. She pleaded desperately, so I endured.” According to Hamida, the Taliban had no meal plan for these prisoners, and her mother sent her food from home every day.
Exile for Women; Alternative Punishment to Prison
In some districts, due to the lack of facilities for female prisoners, the Taliban have replaced imprisonment with exile from their place of residence.
Mohammadullah, a defense lawyer in Herat, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily about the case of a woman exiled from one of the districts of Herat Province. Maryam (pseudonym), a resident of one of the districts of Herat, was arrested on charges of having an extramarital relationship. She spent 20 days confined in a room in the district’s center.
According to the defense lawyer, the woman’s place of detention caused many rumors and speculations among the locals to the extent that a cleric warned the Taliban district about the negative reputation this action would bring them among the people. Subsequently, the Taliban court judge in this district decided to exile the accused instead of imprisoning her in the room.
Maryam is transferred to Herat City following the Taliban judge’s ruling and is not allowed to return home for one year. Findings from the report indicate that no Taliban-controlled women’s prison meets legal and health standards.
Earlier, the Hasht-e Subh Daily released another investigative report from the northeastern region of the country, exposing the Taliban’s torture of women prisoners by targeting their sexual body parts and subjecting them to sexual assault.
Note: This report has been prepared in collaboration with the Afghan Witness.