Women’s rights activists targeted due to gender

KABUL (Khaama Press): In a recent statement, United Nations experts highlighted that women’s rights activists are actively involved in the current administration’s prisons and are being targeted because of their gender.

On Tuesday, these United Nations experts expressed their concern in a joint statement about the physical and mental well-being of detained women within the Taliban administration’s custody. In this statement, it is mentioned that Neda Parwani, a women’s rights activist, along with her husband, and Julia Parsi, the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement in Afghanistan, have been detained without specific reasons and are currently held in prison.

More than a month has passed since the detention of these women’s rights activists, but the current administration of the Taliban has not provided any information regarding their arrest. It should be noted that the Women’s Rights Movement had reported the detention of another women’s rights activist, Manizha Seddiqi, who was arrested in mid-October. United Nations experts have emphasized that women’s rights activists are increasingly targeted or detained due to their gender.

This is happening while, over the past two years, dozens of female activists have been detained by the Taliban authorities. The experts added, “It appears that the Taliban are continuing to intensify their restrictions in civil society, particularly by silencing the voices of women and girls, resulting in a disturbing impact.” These experts have called on the authorities of the Taliban to respect peaceful protests and release imprisoned women as soon as possible.

Furthermore, findings from Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, indicate that the current situation in Afghanistan under the control of the current regime may lead to “sexual harassment and abuse,” which is an international crime.