Taliban’s Ministry of Interior Confirms Killing of Group’s Chief of Police For Badakhshan

Emphasising that the IRC’s ability to deliver services rely on female staff at all levels, the organisation stressed that if they are not allowed to employ women, they will not able to deliver to those in need.

The IRC, while stating that it is dismayed and disheartened by the Taliban ban said that the exclusion of women from humanitarian service delivery will have catastrophic consequences for the Afghan people because its services depend on women workers. The IRC has urged Taliban to take into consideration the grave humanitarian implications of the ban as over 97% of the population is at risk of poverty.

The IRC said in a statement that over the past three decades it has never had to cease delivering support in the country. The organisation added that it is committed to working with national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, the UN, and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the situation is resolved.

Currently, the IRC had been operating in twelve provinces across Afghanistan in the areas of emergency response, health, education, livelihoods and other life-saving interventions.

“IRC in Afghanistan employs over 8000 people - over 3,000 of whom are women. Our male and female staff work closely with rural and urban communities to identify needs, design and implement programming in line with cultural sensitivities and social norms,” it added.

With Afghanistan in the midst of a worsening humanitarian crisis and economic collapse, humanitarian actors have been essential in saving lives in the country over the course of the past year.

As Afghanistan struggles to recover from ongoing conflict and natural disasters, the IRC: works with local communities to identify, plan and manage their own development projects, provides safe learning spaces in rural areas, community-based education, cash distribution provides uprooted families with tents, clean water, sanitation and other basic necessities, and helps people find livelihood opportunities as well as extensive resilience programming.

The coalition added that Afghan women have been systemically removed from social life under the Taliban regime.

The women activists called on the international community to hold the Taliban accountable regarding women’s issues in Afghanistan.

According to the statement, since the group's return to power in 2021, the Taliban leadership has issued more than 33 decrees "to restrict and punish women".

The coalition has emphasised that human rights and stability are undeniably linked in Afghanistan and the world cannot and should not, ignore the problems of Afghan women.

The coalition has asked the International Criminal Court to use its jurisdiction and bring the Taliban to justice for their "heinous crimes against women".

The Taliban has increased handing out of the punishment of flogging over the last month.

Aziz Ahmad Rashid, head of Khost city’s primary court, said that the defendants have been sentenced to punishment to prevent prostitution.

Corporal punishment of citizens by the Taliban has been widely condemned domestically and internationally.

On Thursday, the Taliban also publicly flogged 21 people, including four women, on various charges in Badakhshan province.

A group of women in Takhar province held a protest against the ban on education for women on Saturday.

At the same time, a large demonstration has been held by the student movement in Herat province. Taliban members in Herat also violently suppressed the women’s demonstration.

Taliban’s ban on the right to education for women in Afghanistan has caused widespread reactions in the past week.

Many male students at various universities in Afghanistan, in response to the Taliban ban, have declared that they are not ready to attend their classes until the Taliban leadership revokes the decree.

More than 60 university lecturers in Afghanistan have also resigned in response to the Taliban’s decision to ban education for girls.

One of the girls who was a part of the demonstrators said that the increase in the presence of Taliban fighters in the city shows how much the group fears the people.

Meanwhile, male students of Herat University said that the Taliban has closed Herat University "until further notice".

Taliban officials have not reacted to the reports so far.

A resident of Herat said that a group of 15 people in uniform have been stationed at the gate of Herat University, dozens of Taliban forces are present at the Mostofiat roundabout and other Taliban members are present on the streets leading to the university and the governor's office to prevent any kind of gathering of women.

Herat Students' Movement on Saturday said that many male and female residents of Herat protested against the ban on education for girls and women.

In a video reviewed by Afghanistan International, it can be seen that the Taliban used fire trucks to disperse the protesters.

Members of the Herat Students’ Movement also said that the Taliban used whips, electric gears, and rifle shafts to beat up female students. In the pictures that they sent to Afghanistan International, bruises can be seen on the students' bodies.