Women Prisoners In Afghanistan Rise 435 Percent Under Taliban Rule
The number of women prisoners in Afghanistan has risen by 435 percent to 1,825, with women now held in 34 prisons, according to figures released by the Taliban’s Interior Ministry.
The number of women prisoners in Afghanistan has risen by 435 percent to 1,825, with women now held in 34 prisons, according to figures released by the Taliban’s Interior Ministry.
Of the total, 469 women are held in Kabul, the largest concentration in a single location, followed by Herat and Balkh. The data show the number of women detainees has increased 18.7 percent compared with last year.
The Taliban regained power on August 15, 2021. Amnesty International has reported that in the early days of Taliban rule, the group opened the doors of many prisons across the country. An investigation by Afghanistan International said Taliban decrees, largely moral and religious in nature, have significantly broadened the grounds for the detention and punishment of women.
Sharp Rise Compared With The Republic Era
According to data from World Prison Brief, during the republic period from 2001 to 2021, the number of women prisoners in Afghanistan never exceeded 1,000. In 2021, the final year of the republic order, there were 840 women prisoners.
Nearly four years after the Taliban’s return to power, the total prison population has reached 24,446, including 1,825 women held in women’s facilities.
Distribution By Province
Afghanistan has 71 prisons in total, 34 for women and 37 for men. Kabul alone has four detention facilities, with women held at Badam Bagh prison.
Kabul has the highest number of women prisoners, followed by Herat with 294, Balkh with 141, Nangarhar with 85 and Kandahar with 57.
Panjshir has the fewest women prisoners, with one, followed by Bamiyan with three, Maidan Wardak with six, and Logar and Zabul with seven each.
Women make up 7.5 percent of the total prison population. Observers say the figure is significant given Afghanistan’s social structure and restrictions that confine many women to their homes.
Taliban Directives & Women’s Imprisonment
The Taliban do not release case details of women prisoners, but the group’s Supreme Court regularly announces public floggings of women, most commonly for alleged extramarital relationships or “running away from home.” In many cases, women are sentenced to prison in addition to corporal punishment.
UN and human rights reports offer insight into the causes of women’s arrests. In an April 2025 report, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban had granted broad powers to its Vice and Virtue apparatus, with the detention of women forming part of enforcement.
The Afghan human rights organisation Rawadari said the Taliban’s penal code has lowered the threshold for criminalising women. Under Article 34, a woman who repeatedly goes to her parental home and does not return to her husband’s house can be deemed a criminal. Family members who prevent her return can face up to three months in prison.
Rawadari said the provision disproportionately affects women fleeing domestic violence. Under the code, a husband is punished only if severe injury or visible bruising is proven before a judge, while other forms of physical, psychological or sexual violence are not explicitly prohibited.
Article 37 prescribes one year in prison for a woman accused of touching, shaking hands with or hugging a non-mahram man. Article 59 mandates two months in prison for boys and girls who dance, as well as for spectators.
The UN special rapporteur has warned that under the Promotion of Virtue law, enforcers are required to ensure women’s voices are not heard outside the home, exposing women to punishment even in semi-private spaces.
A report by The Guardian said that after women were barred from work and poverty deepened, some women in Kabul turned to begging, only to be arrested.
Amnesty International has also reported that during waves of arrests linked to dress codes and Taliban restrictions, women have faced degrading treatment, torture and, in some cases, sexual assault in detention.
Sociologist Ali Shiva told Afghanistan International that excluding women from work reduces household income and forces families into risky survival strategies, making women, particularly female heads of households, more vulnerable to criminalisation and exploitation.
The US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report and organised crime indices identify Afghanistan as a source country for trafficking and exploitation, with women and children among the most at-risk groups.
Overall, analysts say Taliban restrictions, particularly under the Vice and Virtue framework, have significantly expanded the scope for the arrest and imprisonment of women across Afghanistan.
