Report: Afghan Girls Abused by Taliban After Hijab Violation Arrests

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Facts

• A report from Afghan news service Zan Times alleges that young Afghan women and teenagers were sexually assaulted by the Taliban while in detention for violating the country's dress requirements.¹
• Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has rolled back women's rights in the country — including a 2022 decree mandating that women wear a full-body burqa that leaves only their eyes exposed.²
• In January of this year, the Taliban confirmed that they had arrested women for wearing a 'bad hijab' before retracting the statement. According to a UN report, the women being arrested are 'predominantly' from ethnic minority communities.³
• The report collected allegations from women who claim they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the police after their arrests for 'bad hijab,' with one account coming from the family of a woman reportedly found dead weeks after being taken into custody.⁴
• One mother reported that her 16-year-old daughter committed suicide after spending two weeks in detention for dress code violations. A Taliban spokesperson has denied all allegations of sexual violence.⁴
• The United Nations is holding a conference on Afghanistan at the end of June in Doha, Qatar, which the Taliban will attend. The Taliban has reportedly demanded that no Afghan women attend and that the status of women's rights in the country be off the agenda.⁵

Sources: ¹WION, ²Voice of America, ³Zan Times, ⁴Guardian (a) and ⁵Guardian (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Bloomberg. The Taliban has instituted a system of gender apartheid in Afghanistan, and these reports show just how deep and pervasive systemic misogyny is. Women are being sexually abused in detention for arbitrary dress code violations, which the Taliban has attempted to keep hidden. The US and UN must leverage the Taliban to fight terrorism while upholding women's fundamental rights.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The global community must be pragmatic about the Taliban and the status of women in Afghanistan. While it may be painful to concede legal and cultural differences, Washington and the UN must engage with the Taliban in good faith for the sake of security and cooperation. Cautious and constructive engagement of the Taliban is the best past forward for Afghan society.

Predictions