Since the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan in July, the Taliban have increasingly taken control of large parts of the country. The president has fled and the government has fallen.
A spirited Taliban have intensified their violence after Afghan forces surrendered and international pressure eased. There is an atmosphere of chaos within Afghanistan at this time, from the airport to other places, there is a crowd. The growing strength of Taliban fighters has also fueled fear among Afghan women.
In early July, Taliban leaders controlling the provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar issued orders to local religious leaders to provide a list of girls over the age of 15 and widows under the age of 45 for marriage with Taliban fighters. did. It is not yet known whether his orders have been implemented or not. If forced marriages take place, women and girls will be taken to Waziristan in Pakistan and retrained and converted to authentic Islam.
Vrinda Narayan, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, said during a discussion that the order has instilled deep fear among the women and their families living in these areas and they are being treated as internally displaced persons. forced to join the ranks of and migrate. A humanitarian disaster is spreading its feet in Afghanistan and in the last three months alone, several thousand people have been displaced.
This Taliban directive is a stern warning of what is to come and is a reminder of the brutal regime of the Taliban of 1996-2001 when women were repeatedly denied human rights violations, employment, and education, the burqa was forced to wear and were prohibited from leaving their home without a male patron or mahram. Despite claims that they have changed their stance on women's rights, the Taliban's recent actions and fresh intentions to push thousands of women into sexual slavery appear to go against its claims.
In addition, the Taliban have indicated their intention to reinstate a law that deprives girls of education after the age of 12, bans women from employment, and requires women to leave home with a guardian. The benefits enjoyed by Afghan women over the past 20 years are at risk, especially in education, employment and political participation.
Offering wives is a tactic aimed at enticing terrorists to join the Taliban. This is sexual slavery, not marriage, and to force women into sexual slavery under the guise of marriage is both a war crime and a crime against humanity. Article 27 of the Geneva Convention states that women should be protected against any attack on their honor, especially against rape, forced prostitution, or any other form of indecent behavior.
In 2008, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 declaring that rape and other forms of sexual violence could be war crimes, crimes against humanity. It recognizes sexual violence as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate and instill fear among civilian members of the community.
The United Nations must now take decisive action to stop further atrocities against women in Afghanistan. It must be ensured that the rights of women enshrined in Afghanistan's constitution, national law, and international law are respected. Emphasize the continuation of peace talks with the meaningful participation of Afghan women.
The lifting of sanctions against the Taliban should be conditional on their commitment to upholding the rights of women. The EU and the US, which are currently Afghanistan's largest donors, should provide assistance conditional on women's rights and their access to education and employment.
Women in Afghanistan and throughout the region will welcome the efforts of the United Nations and the international community to ensure that victims of sexual violence have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice. Acts of sexual violence should have no place in Afghanistan as part of a broader vision of seeking lasting peace, justice, and national reconciliation.
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