Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily show that the Taliban have imprisoned dozens of women in various provinces over the past nearly three years on various charges. Findings indicate that all detainees, contrary to the principles of fair trial in the Taliban’s penal system, have been subjected to humiliation, torture, and harassment, and some have faced sexual assault. In most provinces, the Taliban do not have separate women’s prisons and have allocated a section of male prisons to women. Alongside the lack of separate facilities for women, this group has subjected detainees to verbal, physical, and psychological abuse. Two women in this report have confirmed that they were sexually assaulted by the Taliban and have also witnessed assaults on other women. One woman, released from the Pul-e Charkhi prison, recounts that due to the dire health conditions in this prison, her hair was infested with lice, and there is no healthcare, especially menstrual services, available in this prison. Furthermore, a credible source in the province of Badakhshan claims that some Taliban officials attempt to take “tall and beautiful” female prisoners to their homes overnight and return them to prison in the morning. Findings of the Hasht-e Subh Daily from Uruzgan province also indicate that when women are detained, they are held in the residences of Taliban officials until they are transferred to the Kandahar provincial prison.
Over the past two and a half years, the Taliban have arbitrarily detained women on various charges. In addition to setting up vigilante courts and publicly flogging women, this group has unjustly imprisoned hundreds of women and girls on charges such as collaborating with anti-Taliban fronts, affiliating with ISIS, engaging in extramarital affairs, and speaking on the phone with unrelated men.
Some women and girls have reportedly been sexually assaulted while detained in Taliban custody and prisons. Those who have experienced Taliban imprisonment and detention have claimed that the behavior of prison guards and officials of this group towards them has been extremely ugly and inhumane.
According to the statements of female prisoners, during interrogations in detention centers, the Taliban demand that suspects undress themselves, and if anyone hesitates, they are severely tortured, to the extent that their genitals are beaten.
This report features interviews with four female prisoners and two relatives of prisoners who have experienced the stages of the defendants’ relative cases. According to the findings of this report, a young girl whose body was found last year in a runnel in the Arghandi Square area of Kabul city was detained by Taliban fighters for not adhering to the dress code prescribed by this group and was subsequently raped and murdered.
According to sources, the parents of this girl have gone missing after approaching Taliban authorities for justice, and their fate remains unknown. On December 19, 2023, the Taliban detained the 23-year-old Bibi Marina from the area between Naanwayee Station and the Barchi City Center in the thirteenth district of Kabul City on charges of violating the dress code prescribed by this group. Marina, in addition to her job as a tailor, was a student at the Farabi Institute of Health Sciences and was detained by the Taliban for over 20 days before her body was thrown into the runnel.
The released prisoners interviewed in this report have harrowing accounts of their fellow inmates in Taliban detention centers and prisons. These women say they have been incarcerated in an unfair process and solely based on baseless allegations.
Many female prisoners report being sent to Taliban prisons without going through the fair trial process and without having legal representation. They describe spending days and nights in appalling health and food conditions in these prisons. Alongside the poor health situation, they suffer from verbal abuse and taunts from Taliban prison guards, which take a toll on their mental well-being. One female prisoner, released from the Pul-e Charkhi prison, recalls finding her hair infested with lice when she combed it at home.
According to the findings of the report, in some Taliban detention centers, women are forced to share men’s toilets. Additionally, female prisoners report overcrowded conditions where rooms meant for two or three people accommodate eight to ten prisoners.
This report addresses the situation of female prisoners in the provinces of Badakhshan, Balkh, Samangan, Oruzgan, Kabul, Ghazni, and Maidan Wardak. According to the information obtained, women in all these provinces have been detained on various charges, and some have been recognized as innocent by the group’s courts. Released prisoners claim that they have been imprisoned on unfounded charges, leading to damage to their and their families’ social dignity and integrity. They wonder who will compensate them for the expenses they incurred at the peak of poverty and destitution.
The Situation of Women in Prisons of Taliban in Badakhshan Province
Findings from Badakhshan province indicate that currently, 79 women are imprisoned in the Taliban’s prison in Fayzabad, the center of this province. Information suggests that there are no female prisons in any of the districts of this province. Women who are deemed suspects by the Taliban in Badakhshan are held in the custody of the security command centers of the districts of this province after being detained.
According to the information obtained, there is no specific custody room for women in the Yaftal (upper and lower) district of Badakhshan, but in other districts of this province, there is a room called a custody room where detainees spend two to three days until they are either released on bail or transferred to the provincial center.
Sources inform the Hasht-e Subh Daily that all custody rooms in the district security command centers of Badakhshan province lack basic healthcare facilities and necessities for survival. Findings from this province indicate that all women in the custody rooms of the district security command centers in Badakhshan use men’s toilets due to the lack of separate toilets and water facilities.
In Badakhshan, the Taliban have a custody room in the criminal section of the district security command centers. When women are detained, they are transferred to the district security command center’s custody room after being detained and handed over to their respective authorities from there.
A review of the cases of female prisoners in Badakhshan province shows that most women have been detained on charges of engaging in extramarital affairs. Additionally, one woman in this province is imprisoned in Fayzabad city on charges of insulting the morality police of this group.
In addition to charges of engaging in extramarital affairs and fleeing from home, 15 women and girls have been detained in the Shighnan district of this province for not adhering to the Taliban’s dress code and insulting this group. Furthermore, a woman in Baharak district has been detained on charges of making phone calls and extorting money from one of the Taliban’s forces.
Two women in the Yawan district have been detained, and their charges are still unclear, but in the past, they were police officers. The Taliban have not clarified the reason for their detention, and they are imprisoned without clear charges. Meanwhile, five women in the Yaftal district have been imprisoned on charges of murdering a Taliban fighter, and two teachers in the Tagab district of this province have been detained on charges of encouraging women and girls to not adhere to the Taliban’s dress code.
Meanwhile, credible sources speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveal that women accused of crimes and drug addiction are held in one location. According to these sources, the person in charge of this prison ore referred to as the “safe house” by the sources, who is a woman herself, behaves very badly towards the women, subjecting them to humiliation and insults.
Sources state: “Another terrifying and reprehensible aspect is that some local Taliban authorities, including the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, have requested the responsible person of this prison to send any young female prisoners they have to them at night.” These sources add: “A local Taliban official has said, ‘If you can send [female prisoners] to us at night, I will send a ranger. Send me some who are tall, attractive, and beautiful. Choose for us. Entrust them to us for one night, and we will return them to you in the morning.'”
The Situation of Women in Balkh Province Women’s Prison
Findings from the report indicate that currently 102 women are imprisoned in the central prison of Mazar-e-Sharif City, the capital of Balkh province. The central prison is located in the first district of Mazar-e-Sharif City, and there is no separate facility for female prisoners in the 14 districts of Balkh province. Only one room in the detention centers of the security command centers of the province’s districts has been designated for housing women.
Information from the districts of Balkh province suggests that detained women are transferred to the central prison in Mazar-e-Sharif city after 24 hours to two days. Most women in the districts and the capital of this province are detained by male Taliban fighters, and during the detention of women, there is rarely any presence of female authorities of the Taliban.
According to the information, most female prisoners in Balkh province are detained by the Taliban on charges of collaborating with anti-Taliban fronts. These prisoners are deprived of access to justice, fair trial, and visits with their families, and families of prisoners rarely obtain permission for visits.
Sources in Balkh province describe the health situation in the women’s prison of this province as dire. According to them, there is no proper dietary regime, and cleanliness is not observed in this prison. Based on the statements of sources, women are mostly subjected to disrespect in the detention centers, and although they are not tortured or mistreated to the extent of detention and confinement, serious abuses of women prisoners exist, and there is no institution among the Taliban to listen to women’s voices in this regard.
Some released prisoners have also confirmed that “any crime” committed in prison is not questioned. According to them, Taliban officials view women prisoners as sinful and slaves and therefore do not accept their complaints against prison guards and fighters of this group.
Information from Balkh indicates that some women have committed suicide after being released from Taliban prisons. A young girl committed suicide on Thursday, February 1, 2024, in the third district of Mazar-e-Sharif city, the center of Balkh province. The Taliban had detained this young girl on the pretext of not adhering to the hijab prescribed by this group, and her body was found five days later in the “Kol-e Ambowi” area of Balkh district, one of the Taliban’s military areas. Sources have confirmed that this girl was raped and then shot.
Location of Women’s Prison in Ghazni Province and its Prison Population
In Ghazni province, there is also no dedicated prison for women. A section of the central prison in this province is allocated for women prisoners, located in the Koh-e Baad area on the outskirts of Ghazni city. Currently, there are 15 women in this prison. These women have been imprisoned on charges of extramarital affairs, escaping from home, and being involved in murder. Findings indicate that access to healthcare and family visits for the prisoners is scarce.
In the districts of Ghazni province, there are no women’s prisons, and women are held in custody in the detention centers of the security command centers of the districts. After going through the relative legal processes, they are transferred to the central prison of Ghazni province.
Findings show that out of the 18 districts of Ghazni province, only in Jaghori, Malistan, and Qarabagh districts, there are detention centers for women’s detention, and in other districts, there is no place for detained women.
Location of Women’s Prison in Maidan Wardak Province and its Prison Population
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that there are no women’s prisons in the districts of Maidan Wardak Province. However, there is a separate section for women’s detention within the compound of the central prison in Maidan Shahr City. Currently, six female prisoners are held in this prison, one of whom is accused of murder, while the remaining five are charged with extramarital affairs.
In the administrative center of the Hisa-e-Awali Behsud district and Saydabad in this province, a room is designated as a women’s detention center. However, in the districts of Jalrez, Nirkh, Chaki Wardak, Jaghatu, and Day Mirdad, there are no women’s prisons or detention centers. Poor health conditions, lack of basic care, and inappropriate and harsh treatment by the Taliban are identified as major challenges in their detention centers in Maidan Wardak province. Sources further state that most of the women’s cases are resolved by local jirgas (councils) and Taliban courts in this province which is similar to a vigilante court where the rights of the accused, including human dignity and immunity, are not respected.
ٌWhile In the districts and the center of Uruzgan province, there are no women’s prisons or detention centers. Women detained on various charges by the Taliban are either held in the homes of Taliban officials or transferred to the women’s prison in Kandahar province.
However, findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily in the provinces of Samangan, Jawzjan, and Faryab indicate that 23 women are imprisoned in the city of Aybak, the capital of Samangan province. They are detained on charges of extramarital affairs, fleeing from home, associating with former military personnel, and links to anti-Taliban fronts.
According to the report’s findings, 19 women in Sheberghan, the center of Jawzjan province, are also imprisoned. Some of them are accused of drug trafficking, having connections with anti-Taliban forces, and fleeing from home. The charges against most of them are unclear, and they are detained without specific relative files, with no clarity on how long the Taliban will keep them in this uncertain situation.
In Farah province, the districts are also devoid of women’s prisons, with only one prison located in the second district of the main road in the city of Maymana, the capital of this province, where women are incarcerated. The accusations against these imprisoned women include fleeing from home, extramarital affairs, and theft, while some of them have not been charged with any specific crime.
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that women in these provinces not only lack defense lawyers and access to fair trials but also struggle to easily reach their family members. The families of most prisoners in these provinces pay money to Taliban members to visit their imprisoned relatives.
Women’s Experience in Taliban Detention Centers and Prisons in Kabul and Samangan Provinces
The experience of women in Taliban detention centers and prisons in Kabul and Samangan is alarming and horrifying. One of the female protesters, who was sexually assaulted by the Taliban in the detention center of the sixteenth security district of Kabul city, says that this group sees women as sexual and war spoils.
This protester, who was sexually assaulted on the first night after her arrest, broke down in tears multiple times during her interview with the Hasht-e Subh Daily. She described herself as a walking dead person, saying that the Taliban forced women and girls to undress during interrogation. According to her, those who resisted this Taliban demand were severely tortured.
Narges Nisar (pseudonym), whose real name she refrains from mentioning due to security threats, tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily that she was detained for three days in the Taliban’s sixteenth security district detention center and sexually assaulted by two Taliban fighters one night. Ms. Nisar says, “The Taliban interrogated me, asking, ‘Who supports you? Why are you protesting?’ When I didn’t confess and denied it, they showed me pictures and beat me. Night came, and they took me away. It was dark (cries). The room was long and dark. You couldn’t tell where you were. They took the girls one by one (cries). Those who hesitated were beaten with whips and sticks to take off their clothes. Those who didn’t take off their clothes were severely beaten.”
This woman, choking on every word and shedding tears, says no one heard the cries and screams of women and girls, and there was no outcry there.
Ms. Nisar adds, “The fear was so much that no one spoke. Everyone was struggling for their dignity, but there was no justice. There were six of us in a room, two girls and four women. They had brought one of the girls for wearing a high-rise skirt. She had just got engaged. She had been sexually assaulted before me, and then they took me.”
The protesting woman states, “Two militants, with great terror, sexually assaulted me. First, they demanded I remove my clothes. When I resisted and screamed, they covered my mouth with a black cloth and tied my hands behind my back, then undressed me themselves. I couldn’t scream or resist. All I could hear was the chatter of the Taliban. During the assault, if I made any noise, they hit me in places where I could not be able to show. They were gripping me from the genitals.”
Ms. Nisar specifies that her family intervened to rescue her from the Pul-e-Charkhi prison. She adds, “My family and I committed not to speak to the media. They warned that if anything was said to the media, they would eliminate all members of my family. I’ve contemplated suicide many times, but when I look at my children, I refrain. I told my husband that if you won’t look at me, set me free; because I didn’t choose this voluntarily. My husband said he hasn’t heard and won’t hear.”
This protesting woman adds, ‘The Taliban used highly inappropriate language, insulting our fathers. They pressured us, saying, ‘If you’re Muslims, why not engage in these [sexual] acts with us? If an infidel pays, you do it.'” Ms. Nisar emphasizes, “The Taliban didn’t interrogate; they assaulted. There was no other activity. Interrogations began in the morning. We weren’t allowed to speak. We sat in a corner, enduring our pain. Now, every moment I share a bed with my husband, I remember. I’m terrified and crying simultaneously. I scream. I’ve tried to heal, but I haven’t recovered.” She also urges all women and girls who have been assaulted in Taliban prisons to speak up. “If it’s about dignity, and they’ve destroyed yours and subjected you to assault, why remain silent?
Shamail (pseudonym) hails from Samangan province, where she endured harrowing experiences under Taliban rule. Her family sought to force her into marriage with an elderly Taliban member, leading her to flee her father’s home in protest. Shamail reveals that she was subjected to sexual assault twice by the Taliban and spent over seven months incarcerated in their prison.
In her interview with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, Shamail bravely shares her ordeal, stating, “My family decided to marry me off to an elderly Taliban member. I objected and attempted to escape to Kabul. However, I was intercepted at a Taliban checkpoint in the Rubatak area and taken to their detention center. For 12 days, I suffered brutal treatment in the detention center, enduring sexual assault twice. After this ordeal, I was transferred to prison, where I remained for seven months.”
This young woman from Samangan adds that the Taliban forced women in the women’s prison to comply with their sexual demands; otherwise, they were severely beaten and tortured. She says, “I spent seven months in Samangan prison, witnessing many being beaten and tortured to satisfy the Taliban and go out with them at night [Taliban members take women out of prison and sexually assault them]. If anyone refused to comply, they were tortured. Finally, after seven months, I found my relatives who sent money for my release, and I was freed.”
Women’s Experience: From Torture to Enduring Hardship in Pul-e-Charkhi Prison
Shamsiya (pseudonym), one of the women who fell into the Taliban’s trap due to family disputes, also complains about the unfair trial process of the Taliban. She says that as a result of a conspiracy, she fell into the hands of this group, but their trials, without considering the principles of fair trial, sent her to Pul-e-Charkhi Prison and then recognized her as innocent.
Shamsiya, who has difficulty answering some questions about her prison experience, says she does not want to talk about it in detail. She attributes her reluctance to talk about it to its adverse effects on her mental and emotional well-being. Shamsiya adds, “I involuntarily get upset. Talking doesn’t seem important, but it hurts my mind. Everything passes, but its trace remains for life. It stays on every piece of my being.”
Ms. Shamsiya says that Taliban prison guards at Pul-e-Charkhi treat female prisoners very badly and inhumanely, with 8 to 10 women living in each room. She describes the health and food conditions in the Pul-e-Charkhi Prison as unpleasant and terrible, noting that there were a few toilets, and all prisoners were using them. According to her, the daily routine of female prisoners was cleaning the prison, and despite that, the health conditions there were intolerable.
However, one of Shamsiya’s family members, who has been following her case and has visited Pul-e-Charkhi prison several times during her imprisonment, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban detained her due to a family dispute, but changed her case during the detention and levied serious charges against Shamsiya. They added that officials from one of the Taliban’s security departments in Kabul demanded a bribe of six thousand dollars for the release of her.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily under the pseudonym Shabnam, this woman emphasizes that during the various stages of Shamsiya’s case, from the court to Pul-e-Charkhi prison, they faced numerous problems and hardships, the memories of which are painful and terrifying.
Shabnam says, “The Taliban view us as sinners. From the detention center to the court and Pul-e-Charkhi prison, I have had very bitter experiences. One day, in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, one of the Taliban fighters, while I had a mobile phone in my hand, treated me very rudely. I asked him, ‘Why can’t you behave like a human being?’ He said, ‘If you were good, you wouldn’t be in prison.'”
The family member of Shamsiya adds, “One day I went to Pul-e-Charkhi prison. I saw her shoulders bruised and severely wounded.” She emphasizes that the most painful issue is that all imprisoned women in Pul-e-Charkhi are incarcerated together regardless of the severity of their charges.
Shabnam says, “In one large hall, everyone was imprisoned together. There, those who were imprisoned had different levels of charges. Some were innocent, but all the accused and criminals were together.”
Referring to a quote from Shamsiya, Shabnam adds, “There was one person in the prison who was almost mentally ill and seemed insane. Her health condition was very bad. She screamed every moment and disturbed everyone, and no one could sleep or rest.”
Shabnam states, “Shamsiya’s hair was very long, she was so thin that she was unrecognizable. When she came home, her hair was infested with lice, and lice were falling from her head. There were no sanitary napkins or health services for menstruating women. They were forced to live like animals in prison.”
Furthermore, another protesting woman, who was subjected to severe beatings in the third security district of the Taliban, shares photos of her body parts showing wounds as a result of torture. She says, “I was severely beaten. My daughter was one year old and cried a lot. My wrists and ankles were swollen. I also had bruises and black marks. They have taken a commitment from me not to speak, and this situation is killing me.”
Earlier, the Hasht-e Subh Daily had found in separate investigative reports that the Taliban had tortured women in their prisons in various ways. Members of this group tortured the sexual organs of women in prisons and raped them.
In another separate report, the situation of women in prisons in the western provinces of the country is depicted, showing that women in the provinces of Ghor, Herat, Badghis, Farah, and Nimruz have been imprisoned on various charges without due process of fair trial and are subjected to violence and mistreatment in prisons.
This report was prepared in collaboration with the Afghan Witness Project.
You can read the Persian version of this investigative report here:
وضعیت ناگوار زنان در نظارتخانهها و زندانهای طالبان؛ «به بهانه بازجویی تجاوز میشود»