Amnesty International has reported that Afghan women and girls have endured some of the most severe human rights violations since the Taliban’s return to power, with virtually no avenue for justice.
The organisation asserts that the Taliban have reversed all legal and institutional reforms aimed at improving women’s rights.
In a statement, Amnesty International announced its intention to submit its findings to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) during the committee’s ninety-first session, scheduled to run from 16 June through July 2025.
The report details how, since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, the Taliban have declared void any laws aligned with international human rights standards and disbanded bodies that offered support legal, social and public to women and girls. It emphasises that restrictions have been imposed across every sphere of women’s and girls’ lives, from education and employment to freedom of movement.
Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan had been implementing a series of legal and institutional measures designed to advance women’s rights, despite ongoing challenges. Amnesty International warns that these hard-won gains have been abruptly dismantled, leaving Afghan women and girls at risk of systemic discrimination and abuse.
Amnesty International has called on the international community and UN member states to press the Taliban to restore legal protections and institutions that safeguard women’s rights and to ensure accountability for ongoing violations.
