Taliban Detains Female Afghan Human Rights Activist in Kabul

The Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women (SMAW) confirmed that the Taliban has detained Manizha Sediqi, a human rights activist and a member of the movement, in Kabul.

In a statement, the movement wrote that the Taliban had arrested Sediqi on October 9.

Previously, sources quoting Sediqi's relatives told Afghanistan International that she had been missing for two weeks, and now it is clear that the Taliban detained her from the Khair Khana area of Kabul and did not inform her family.

There is still no clear information about Sediqi's health status and place of detention.

The SMAW has written in its statement that Sediqi is the third member of the movement to be a victim of "seeking justice" under the Taliban rule.

The movement has considered the detention of Sediqi as the continuation of the Taliban's "gender apartheid" policy and the detaining of women and human rights activists.

Taliban sources have not publicly commented on the matter.

The group has previously detained protesting women on multiple occasions.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, the group imposed extensive restrictions on civil freedoms and especially women's activities.

Consecutive orders attributed to the Taliban leader to restrict women within their homes have provoked widespread protests by Afghan women activists, and in the last two years, these activists have formed protest movements to pursue their demands.