Afghanistan's Taliban Have 'weaponized' The Judicial System To Oppress Women, Un Expert Says

UNITED NATIONS — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers person “weaponized” nan ineligible and judicial strategy to oppress women and girls successful what amounts to “crimes against humanity,” nan independent U.N. interrogator connected quality authorities successful nan state said.

Richard Bennett said successful a study to nan U.N. General Assembly circulated Wednesday that aft seizing powerfulness successful 2021 nan Taliban suspended nan 2004 constitution and laws protecting nan authorities of women and girls. These see a landmark rule that criminalized 22 forms of unit against women, including rape and kid and forced marriage.

The Taliban dismissed each judges nether nan erstwhile U.S.-backed government, including astir 270 women, replacing them pinch men who stock their utmost Islamic views, deficiency ineligible training and manus down decisions based connected edicts issued by nan Taliban, he said.

In addition, he noted that nan Taliban person assumed afloat power complete rule enforcement and investigative agencies, systematically purging Afghans who worked for nan erstwhile government.

Bennett, who was appointed by nan Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, focused connected entree to justness and protection for women and girls successful his report. He said he held meetings, focus-group discussions and one-on-one interviews pinch much that 110 Afghans wrong and extracurricular nan country. He did truthful remotely because nan Taliban person refused to assistance him a visa to recreation to Afghanistan.

Since nan Taliban took power of Afghanistan, their crackdown connected women and girls has been wide reported and globally denounced.

Taliban leaders person barred acquisition for women and girls beyond sixth grade, banned astir employment, and prohibited women from galore nationalist spaces, including parks, gyms and hairdressers. New laws prohibition women’s voices and bare faces extracurricular nan home.

The Taliban stay isolated from nan West because of their restrictions connected women and girls and person only been recognized by Russia.

Bennett said nan Taliban did not respond to an beforehand transcript of nan study and a petition for accusation astir their efforts to guarantee entree to justness and protection for women and girls.

The Taliban take sides their attack to justness by claiming they are implementing Islamic law law, but Islamic scholars and others person said their mentation is unparalleled successful different Muslim-majority countries and does not adhere to Islamic teachings. They opportunity protecting nan ineligible authorities of women is simply a priority.

Bennett said, however, that women person virtually nary rights.

“Today, location are nary women judges aliases prosecutors and nary officially registered female lawyers, leaving women and girls pinch less safe channels to study maltreatment aliases activity redress,” he wrote. “Coupled pinch a deficiency of female officials successful nan constabulary and different institutions, nan consequence is wide underreporting of unit and favoritism against women and girls.”

Bennett said entree to justness for girls “is further undermined by nan dismantling of cardinal ineligible safeguards and institutions protecting nan authorities of children,” including juvenile courts and juvenile rehabilitation centers.

The Taliban request that a female must beryllium accompanied by a antheral comparative besides creates barriers to filing complaints and attending tribunal proceedings, he said, and disproportionately affects widows, women who are nan heads of their households, nan displaced and disabled.

“Women who prosecute pinch nan Taliban tribunal strategy — whether arsenic victims seeking redress, to resoluteness family issues, to get charismatic documents aliases arsenic alleged offenders — look a dispute environment,” Bennett said. “Courts often cull complaints made by women and are particularly reluctant to judge cases relating to divorce, kid custody and gender-based violence.”

Facing these obstacles, Bennett said, women progressively move to accepted and informal justness mechanisms, including general jirgas and shuras — organization councils of elders — and informal mediation by belief leaders, organization elders aliases family. But these are each male-dominated and raise “serious concerns astir nan authorities of women and girls,” he said.

He said world forums connection nan champion dream for justice. He pointed to nan International Criminal Court’s request connected Jan. 23 for apprehension warrants for 2 elder Taliban leaders accused of crimes against humanity for persecution “on gender grounds.” And he urged each countries to support efforts to bring Afghanistan earlier nan International Court of Justice, nan U.N.’s highest tribunal, for violating nan Convention connected nan Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.