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Judges say Taliban officers have ‘severely disadvantaged’ women and girls of rights together with schooling.
Judges on the Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for 2 prime Taliban leaders on expenses of persecuting girls and women.
ICC judges on Tuesday mentioned there have been “affordable grounds” to suspect Taliban Supreme Chief Hibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of committing gender-based persecution.
“Whereas the Taliban have imposed sure guidelines and prohibitions on the inhabitants as a complete, they’ve particularly focused women and girls by cause of their gender, depriving them of basic rights and freedoms,” the courtroom mentioned in a press release.
The Taliban had “severely disadvantaged” women and girls of the rights to schooling, privateness and household life and the freedoms of motion, expression, thought, conscience and faith, ICC judges mentioned.
“As well as, different individuals have been focused as a result of sure expressions of sexuality and/or gender identification have been thought to be inconsistent with the Taliban’s coverage on gender.”
The courtroom mentioned the alleged crimes had been dedicated between August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized energy, and continued till at the very least January 20, 2025.
The courtroom’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sought the warrants in January, saying that they recognised that “Afghan girls and women in addition to the LGBTQI+ group are going through an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban”.
UK-based rights group Amnesty Worldwide welcomed the transfer by the ICC, saying it was an “necessary step in direction of justice”.
“The announcement is a crucial improvement that provides hope, inside and outdoors the nation to Afghan girls, women, in addition to these persecuted on the idea of gender identification or expression,” Amnesty Worldwide chief Agnes Callamard mentioned in a press release.
“This can be a essential step to carry accountable all these allegedly chargeable for the gender-based deprivation of basic rights to schooling, to free motion and free expression, to non-public and household life, to free meeting, and to bodily integrity and autonomy.”
The US-based Human Rights Watch additionally welcomed the choice.
“Senior Taliban leaders at the moment are wished males for his or her alleged persecution of ladies, women, and gender non-conforming folks. The worldwide group ought to absolutely again the ICC in its crucial work in Afghanistan and globally, together with by way of concerted efforts to implement the courtroom’s warrants,” Liz Evenson, the group’s worldwide justice director, mentioned in a press release.
The ICC, based mostly in The Hague, was set as much as rule on the world’s worst crimes, equivalent to conflict crimes and crimes towards humanity. It has no police drive of its personal and depends on member states to hold out its arrest warrants – with blended outcomes.
In idea, this implies anybody topic to an ICC arrest warrant can not journey to a member state for concern of being detained.
Final 12 months, the United Nations accused the Taliban authorities of barring at the very least 1.4 million women of their proper to an schooling throughout their time in energy.
Considering the variety of women not going to highschool earlier than the group got here to energy, the UN mentioned 80 p.c of Afghan school-age women – a complete of two.5 million – have been being denied their proper to an schooling.
Authorities additionally imposed restrictions on girls working for non-governmental teams and different employment, with 1000’s of ladies shedding authorities jobs.
Magnificence salons have been closed and girls blocked from visiting public parks and gymnasiums in addition to travelling lengthy distances with out a male chaperone.
A “vice and advantage” regulation introduced final summer season ordered girls to not sing or recite poetry in public and for his or her voices and our bodies to be “hid” exterior the house.
