Taliban Restrict Women’s Movement In Panjshir Without Burqa, Say Residents

Residents of approximately 250 homes have reportedly been told to leave or risk having their properties seized. Taliban officials have not issued any public statement regarding the evictions.

Sources say Taliban representatives warned that any refusal to comply would result in the confiscation of homes and belongings. Several residents told Afghanistan International Pashto that Taliban forces have been inspecting homes in the area for the past month and have established a committee to oversee the process.

One resident said the Taliban had offered vague or unacceptable justifications for the evictions, with some told simply: “You are young; you must vacate your home.” He alleged that the group intends to replace current residents with Taliban members.

Police Township was established in 1984 on 181 hectares of land with funding from the former Ministry of Interior. The area is home to hundreds of families, many of whom are relatives of police officers killed during the presidency of Mohammad Najibullah, Afghanistan’s former head of state.

Residents say they have lived in the township for nearly four decades. Some claim the Taliban has threatened them not to speak to media outlets or human rights organisations and not to file formal complaints.

One resident said: “The Taliban are banging on our doors, forcing out our women and children, and seizing our possessions. This is not just oppression, it is a silent genocide.”

He provided documents showing his family had lived in the township for over 30 years and held legal ownership of their apartment. Nevertheless, he said Taliban officials told him: “You are from Panjshir, this place is not for you.”

Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, spokesperson for the ministry, said the students had been under surveillance for showing “clear signs of ideological deviation” and were detained following an internal investigation.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Khyber said the ministry had taken “practical measures” over the past two months against what it described as various intellectual and cultural movements. He also claimed that three individuals promoting “foreign ideologies” had been arrested during this period.

Khyber warned that “no one will be allowed to question the group’s religious values under the Islamic system.”

The ministry did not release further information regarding the identities or affiliations of the detained students.

In a separate incident on 29 June, the Taliban arrested two employees of the cultural-religious organisation Nama Rasana in Kabul, accusing them of promoting atheism, Christianity, and feminism.

Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has cracked down on religious minorities and dissenting beliefs. Human Rights Watch has warned that the group's policies have turned Afghanistan into a "nightmare" for religious freedom and fundamental human rights.

According to the organisation, the Taliban has committed widespread violations against religious minorities and individuals whose beliefs diverge from the group’s strict interpretation of Islam. Communities including Shias, Sufis, Ahmadis, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians remain under threat of violence, harassment, and persecution.

In May 2024, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a warning about the worsening state of religious freedom in Afghanistan, noting that the Taliban continues to enforce its rigid interpretation of Sharia and suppresses the right to freedom of religion or belief.

In a report released ahead of the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, HRW warned that the group has intensified its repression of women and girls and continues to commit grave abuses with impunity. The report, titled “Afghanistan: Relentless Repression Four Years into Taliban Rule”, outlines a deteriorating human rights and humanitarian crisis.

“The fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover is a grim reminder of the gravity of the Taliban’s abuses, particularly against women and girls,” said Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher. “The Taliban’s abhorrent acts should compel governments to support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account.”

The report highlights the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education, employment, participation in public life, and freedom of movement. HRW said these policies have also obstructed access to humanitarian aid and essential healthcare services.

HRW criticised the international community, particularly UN member states, for inaction. It recalled that in September 2024, a coalition of Afghan and international human rights groups urged the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan. Despite these calls, no such mechanism has been implemented.

The rights organisation is now urging the European Union to include in its upcoming annual resolution to the Human Rights Council a proposal for the creation of a comprehensive accountability mechanism for Afghanistan.

The report also underscores the worsening humanitarian situation. HRW described Afghanistan as facing one of the “world’s worst humanitarian crises,” exacerbated by cuts in donor funding and the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries. Iran and Pakistan have expelled approximately two million Afghans in recent months, placing additional pressure on fragile aid operations.

HRW warned that reductions and suspensions in international aid, particularly from the United States, are having catastrophic consequences, especially for women and girls. The group noted a rise in malnutrition among children and the decline of online education programmes for women and girls, which had become a critical resource amid Taliban-imposed restrictions.

In Kabul, seven people were sentenced to between 10 and 30 lashes and received additional prison terms ranging from one to five years for alleged involvement in narcotics trafficking.

Separately, in Kapisa province, one individual was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and 39 lashes on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”

Azizur Rahman Haqqani, head of the Taliban’s appellate court in Kapisa, defended the corporal punishment, stating that “discretionary punishments in Islamic Sharia are carried out not only to reform the offender but also to serve as a lesson for others.”

The public floggings come despite repeated calls from international human rights organisations urging the Taliban to end the use of corporal punishment. The group, however, maintains that such actions are part of its strict interpretation and enforcement of Islamic Sharia law.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has reintroduced public punishments, including floggings and executions, drawing widespread international condemnation. Rights groups have warned that these practices violate international human rights standards and amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

According to the court’s statement, seven of the accused were also sentenced to one year and eight months in prison. Six of the individuals received between 15 and 30 lashes, while the remaining seven were flogged between 10 and 25 times.

Public floggings have become a routine form of punishment under the Taliban’s justice system, drawing widespread condemnation from human rights organisations.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in May that at least 180 people had been subjected to public punishment in various cities over a three-month period.

Since that report, dozens more individuals have been sentenced to flogging or imprisonment by Taliban courts on a range of charges.