The head of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice of the Taliban has strongly reacted to UNAMA’s report on the detention and torture of women by the group, according to UNAMA. This senior member of the Taliban, in a threatening tone, has warned the United Nations to share its reports with the group before publication. UNAMA stated in a statement that the Taliban have arbitrarily detained some women in Kabul and Daikundi provinces. The organization finds the Taliban’s detention of women concerning and adds that it is investigating reports of requests for money in exchange for the release of girls. This warning comes at a time that for several weeks, they have extensively and angrily continued the detention and torture of women and girls. Some families of women detained by the Taliban have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that their daughters have been released by this group in exchange for cash and guarantees, despite being severely tortured. This Taliban action has triggered widespread public outrage.
After the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed its concern about the detention of women and girls and their arbitrary detention by the Taliban in a published report, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, accused UNAMA of having a “one-sided and unrealistic” report on the detention of women and girls. In a threatening tone, he urged the United Nations to refrain from “arbitrary” and to share its report with the Taliban, especially the apparatus of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice within the group, before publication.
The Taliban official, known for supporting extensive restrictions against women, stated in his speech at a session titled “The Role of Scholars and National Elders in Strengthening Relations Between the Nation and the System”: “UNAMA, which makes one-sided decisions, should remember that in the future, it should refrain from unilateral decisions and “arbitrary” in its publications.”
This warning comes at a time to UNAMA about the consequences of its reports, that the organization has expressed concern in a news statement that the organization finds the detention of women and girls due to the “alleged violation of Islamic hijab” worrisome. The UN Assistance Mission’s deputy office in this news statement said, “Since the beginning of January, UNAMA has recorded a series of campaigns to enforce hijab regulations by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Kabul and Daikundi provinces.” UNAMA’s statement further notes, “A significant number of women and girls have been warned and detained in the capital city, Kabul. In Nili City, the center of Daikundi province, women and girls have also been detained. UNAMA is currently investigating allegations related to misconduct and unlawful detentions.”
According to UNAMA’s news statement, religious and ethnic minorities have been subjected to arbitrary detentions and arrests. The organization added that it is examining claims where money has been requested for the release of girls.
The head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, stated that violent physical actions against women and girls are degrading and dangerous. She added, “Arrests bring great shame, exposing Afghan women to increased risks and undermining public trust.”
Meanwhile, at least two credible sources have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban, in exchange for releasing women and girls, have taken money from their families. A reliable source, unwilling to disclose their name due to security threats from the Taliban, reveals that substantial money and property guarantees secured the release from the group’s custody. The source further explains that after receiving cash and obtaining property documents as collateral, the detained individual’s photo, passport details, and biometrics were registered, leading to their freedom.
Simultaneously, one of the detainees reports that numerous girls were in Taliban prisons, where the group’s fighters subjected them to torture during interrogations, taking them “one by one, and isolating them” for further interrogations. The report refrains from disclosing the location and time for security reasons.
At the same time, protesting women and girls, through releasing video footage and news statements, label the Taliban’s actions as a complete exclusion of women from society. They argue that the Taliban’s targeted “hijab” is an excuse for permanently removing women from social life.
Yasmin Ghiasi, a women’s rights activist, has sent video footage to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, stating, “Hijab is an excuse, the Taliban’s goal is to eliminate women from society.” In addition to her, dozens of women and girls have joined this campaign, labeling the Taliban as “terrorists.”
This comes as, alongside grave concerns from human rights organizations about the detention of women by the Taliban, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has also expressed deep concerns about the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, stated in a committee session that over the past two years, the Taliban have “systematically” excluded women from society. According to her, the Taliban’s imposed prohibitions against women have been catastrophic, issuing more than 50 discriminatory orders that have eliminated women from society.
Nevertheless, Kathy Manning, the Deputy of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and other committee members have voiced concerns about the dire human rights situation, especially the oppressive living conditions for women under Taliban rule. Kathy Manning, appalled by the state of women in Afghanistan, stated that the Taliban have taken away all job opportunities and livelihoods from them and continued to suppress and torture women.
Simultaneously, with the increase in arbitrary detentions and the Taliban’s arrest of women, political and civil activists have condemned these actions as an insult to the collective conscience of society and human dignity. Numerous political and civil activists, including anti-Taliban military fronts, supporting women’s rights, have argued that the Taliban, through these actions, have shattered the tradition of respecting women, which will have adverse consequences for the group.
These political and civil activists are describing the detention of girls and women on the pretext of hijab as a violation of human rights, and gender apartheid. They have called on international human rights organizations to comprehensively investigate these cases. According to them, the Taliban, under the pretext of non-compliance with their specified hijab, are abducting women and girls from the streets and subjecting them to abduction, sexual harassment, and torture in their detention centers.
Previously, in Takhar province, the Taliban had harshly detained and tortured two women on charges of not adhering to the group’s prescribed hijab. These women, by sharing images of parts of their bodies injured due to Taliban torture, confirmed that the fighters and Moral Police of this group had also inflicted lashes on other parts of their bodies that they couldn’t capture on camera.
This comes as the recent discovery of the bodies of two young girls in Kabul and Balkh provinces has occurred. The Taliban have not shown any reaction to this incident, but similar events have been previously attributed to this group.
It is noteworthy that the Taliban are employing a threatening tone as they caution UNAMA. This occurs while critics and opponents of the group consistently condemn the United Nations’ involvement with the Taliban, accusing the organization of aligning with and normalizing global relations with this group.