The United Nations has raised concerns over the recent detentions of women and girls by Afghanistan’s Taliban over their alleged non-compliance with Islamic dress code.
In a statement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan called on the Afghan Taliban authorities to immediately release the detained women.
The mission warned that the crackdown is “pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrests.’
The mission also warned that these arbitrary arrests are “creating a permissive environment for men to enforce repressive measures at home.”
It said these detentions carry an enormous stigma that put Afghan women at even greater risk.
Meanwhile, the mission’s head Roza Otunbayeva also stated that “enforcement measures involving physical violence are especially demeaning and dangerous for Afghan women and girls.”
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice have been carrying out the crackdown.
The UNAMA officials said they have discussed these matters with the Afghan stakeholders, and that were investigating the claims of “ill-treatment of women.”
The mission is also looking into the allegations that payments have been demanded in exchange for release.
The UNAMA has documented “a series of hijab decree enforcement campaigns” in the capital, Kabul, and central Daykundi province since January 1.
Moreover, it also raised concerns that the arrested women could be subjected to “ill-treatment and incommunicado detention.”
It cautioned about the persecution of “religious and ethnic minority communities” which “appear to be disproportionately impacted by these enforcement operations.”
Earlier, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) also called on the Taliban to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
However, Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid refused UNAMA’s allegations, and called them incorrect.
In a post on X, formerly known as twitter, the Taliban chief spokesman said Afghan women wear hijab on their own free will.
He called these claims as “propaganda and far from reality,” stating that Afghan women have not been forced to do so, nor the Afghan authorities mistreated them.
The Taliban have implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law in Afghanistan since their return to power in august 2021.
In May 2022, the interim government issued a hijab decree calling for women to only show their eyes and recommending they wear the head-to-toe burqa.
There are accusations that the interim government has placed sweeping restrictions on women’s access to education and public life.
The latest incident is the first confirmation from an international organization of the crackdown against women from 2021.
During Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, women in Afghanistan had to face similar restrictions.
