Taliban Forces Attack Sewak Shibar Area In Daikundi, Kill 9 Civilians

With the world marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a 16-Day global activism against gender-based violence has been started.

“The fundamental rights of Afghan women need to be protected and concrete steps need to be taken for an enabling environment which is free from all forms of violence,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “Protecting the rights of women is a crucial factor for stability, prosperity and any lasting peace in Afghanistan” said Otunbayeva, who is also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

“Each day we continue to see the normalization of violence against women and girls, in their homes, places where they are allowed to work, online, and in public spaces. We need to renew our efforts to invest in both the protection and empowerment of women and girls in Afghanistan,” said Alison Davidian, UN Women’s Representative in Afghanistan.

Since the summer of 2021, women in Afghanistan have had many of their most fundamental rights restricted or rescinded in a country that has one of the highest rates of violence against women globally. The situation is exacerbated by a dire humanitarian and economic crisis, and the restrictions on women’s fundamental rights, including the freedom to move, work, seek education, and participate in public life.

Women and girls are experiencing the most significant and rapid roll-back in enjoyment of their rights across the board in decades. Women under the Taliban are currently facing oppression in their day-today life with restrictions on movement, dress, no access to education and rolling back of their achievements over the past 20 years. Women have faced restrictions on employment, community presence, and political activities. After entering Kabul, the Taliban abolished the Ministry of Women Affairs and dedicated the ministry’s headquarters to the newly-established Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

In fact, a plan for the separation of men and women socially has been implemented by the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Taliban at universities, restaurants, parks and gymnasiums. The working women of Afghanistan have lost their jobs in most cases too and no women are involved in the policing-making circles of the country.

Human rights organizations have said that the Taliban are practicing "gender apartheid" against Afghan women. In 2021, soon after the fall of Kabul, groups of women activists came to the streets and held a demonstration for women’s rights. However, then too, the Taliban had suppressed the demonstrators in Kabul and other provinces. They continue to detain women activists, and even stop media outlets from covering the protests. The Taliban have also subjected women to increasing violence since they took power. Sometimes as a way of punishing their family members.

Sibgatullah Ahmadi, the NRF spokesperson, claimed that the land will be distributed "to terrorists transferred from Pakistan” and to the people who are not indigenous residents of the area.

Ahmadi stated on Thursday that the purpose of the relocation is "to change the demographic structure and erase the identity of the region".

Qosh Tepa is one of the districts of Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan.

As per a new report, at 33 ICRC-supported hospitals across the country, child malnutrition cases are already 90% higher in 2022 compared to all of 2021, rising from 33,000 cases to over 63,000 so far this year.

The report also stated that number of children under 5 being treated for pneumonia has risen 55 percent in 2022 versus the same period last year at an ICRC-supported children’s hospital in Kabul itself.

“The poverty level in Afghanistan has increased compared to past years. Most people cannot buy material to keep their homes and children warm. They also cannot afford to feed their children properly so pneumonia cases are rising, and the number of malnutrition cases linked to pneumonia will rise, too,” said Dr. Abdul Qayum Azeemi, an ICRC doctor who coordinates ICRC’s programme in Kabul’s Indira Ghandhi hospital.

With winter setting in, the situation of Afghanistan remains alarming, ICRC stated. The deepening economic crisis further impacted by international sanctions and the economic consequences of the Russia-Ukraine international armed conflict makes it impossible for millions of Afghans to make ends meet. “Afghan families face an impossible choice: To eat or to buy heat. And, really, they can’t afford either, resulting in a frightening rise in malnutrition and pneumonia cases,” Martin Schüepp, ICRC’s director of operations, said during his visit to Afghanistan this week.

To provide life-saving assistance to Afghans, the ICRC is supporting 33 hospitals with a total capacity of more than 7,000 beds. The support includes paying for medical supplies, running costs and salaries to nearly 10,500 health workers – a third of whom are women. Those health services reach an estimated population of 26 million people. The ICRC also helps support 46 basic healthcare centers and one hospital run by the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society.

The Afghan domestic media has been facing severe restrictions under the Taliban regime.

Media support groups have previously announced that there is no free media in Afghanistan and Taliban members control media content production and dissemination. Even, many domestic media outlets have allegedly become propaganda tools of the Taliban.

A group of Afghan women once again held a demonstration in Kabul on Thursday.

These women held the protest demanding their rights and participation in the society while chanting the slogan "Women, Life and Solidarity".

These women stressed that without active participation of women, there will not be any progress in society.

The demonstrators emphasised that they will not stop holding the protests until the rights of Afghan women are respected. Currently, a number of women protestors and women's rights activists are being held by the Taliban.

The Taliban have continuously suppressed women's protests and beaten journalists for covering demonstrations.

Currently, several Afghan women's rights activists have been held in Taliban’s detention centers.

According to Hamidi, the reason for the release of such criminals had been corruption at the high-level government bodies.

Ashraf Ghani had pardoned and released 5,000 Taliban prisoners to support the peace process in 2020.

In an exclusive interview with Afghanistan International, Hamidi said that among these 5,000 people, the presidential palace of Afghanistan released 700 dangerous criminals who were not members of the Taliban and should not have been included in the amnesty list.

He accused Ghani's government of bypassing the Afghan justice system in the case of big criminals like Anas Haqqani and releasing them through a political deal.

The previous Afghan government has been criticised extensively for its corruption cases and that is why Afghanistan has been on the list of the most corrupt governments in the world.