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Amnesty International said today that after the Taliban took over the country, basic services for women and girls survivors of gender-based violence in Afghanistan have been drastically reduced.
In 26 new interviews, survivors and service providers told Amnesty International that the Taliban had closed shelters and released detainees from prison, including many convicted of gender-based violence.
Many survivors — as well as shelter staff, lawyers, judges, government officials and others involved in protection services — are now at risk of violence and death.
Women and girls survivors of gender-based violence have largely been abandoned in Afghanistan
“Women and girl survivors of gender-based violence have largely been abandoned in Afghanistan. Their support network has collapsed and their shelters have almost disappeared,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard (Agnès Callamard) ) Say.
“It goes against the Taliban’s belief in opening prison doors across the country and fails to take into account the risks that convicted perpetrators pose to the women and girls they victimize and those who work for the survivors.
"In order to protect women and girls from further violence, the Taliban must allow and support the reopening of shelters and the restoration of other protective services for survivors, restore the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and ensure that service providers can work freely without fear of retaliation ."
Amnesty International calls on the international community to provide immediate and long-term funding for such protection services, evacuate survivors and service providers facing imminent danger, and urges the Taliban to fulfill their obligations to women and girls, especially those who have survived or are in trouble Women and girls. The risk of gender-based violence.
From November 26 to 29, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told Amnesty International over the phone: “According to the Sharia, there is no place for violence against women and girls...Women facing domestic violence can go to court and the court will hear Their case...their grievances will be resolved."
Amnesty International interviewed survivors in the provinces of Badghis, Bamyan, Dekundi, Herat, Kabul, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Paktika, Sarpur and Tahar And individuals involved in protection services.
Before the Taliban took over, many women and girl survivors had access to a nationwide network of shelters and services, including unpaid legal representation, medical and psychosocial support.
Survivors were transferred to the system from the provincial and capital offices of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Human Rights Commission, as well as shelters, hospitals and police stations across the country.
The system is far from perfect, but it serves thousands of women every year in Afghanistan, where, according to UNAMA, nine out of ten women have experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
According to service providers, the most common cases of gender-based violence involve assault, rape, other forms of physical and sexual violence, and forced marriages. Survivors often require emergency medical treatment.
A service provider in Nangargar said: "[Case] is very extreme. We have a case where a man removed his nails from his wife’s fingers... [a] The man took a crowbar and peeled it off His wife’s skin...a woman has suffered a lot of abuse from her family. She can’t even go to the bathroom anymore.”
With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, the protection service system collapsed. The shelters were closed, and many shelters were looted and misappropriated by Taliban members. In some cases, Taliban members harassed or threatened staff.
Brother is my enemy, my husband is my enemy
With the closure of the shelter, the staff were forced to send many women and girl survivors home, while other survivors were forcibly taken away by their families. Other survivors are forced to live with shelter staff, live on the streets, or live in other unsustainable environments.
Zeenat* was often beaten by her husband and brother before hiding in the shelter. When the Taliban arrived, she and several other women ran away. They are now hiding. She said: "We only came with the clothes we wore. We don't have heating, we sleep hungry... My brother is my enemy, and my husband is my enemy. If he sees me and mine Child, he will kill us... I believe they are looking for me because they know that the shelter is closed."
A shelter director who is currently hiding in her shelter with some survivors told Amnesty International: "We don't have a suitable place. We can't go out. We are so scared...please take us out of here. If not, then you Just wait for us to be killed."
As the Taliban advanced, they also systematically released detainees in prisons, many of whom were convicted of crimes of gender-based violence. The testimony of eyewitnesses and others with first-hand information and reliable media reports indicate that Taliban members are responsible for this. A Taliban spokesperson denied this to Amnesty International, insisting that the previous government opened prisons.
A legal professional who specializes in gender-based violence said that a year before the Taliban took over, she participated in the conviction of more than 3,000 perpetrators of gender-based violence.
She said: "[Taliban] will release prisoners wherever they go... Can you imagine? More than 3,000 people were released in all provinces of Afghanistan in one month."
Amnesty International has also received reliable reports that the Taliban have also transferred survivors to the detention system, including to Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul.
Many people working in the protection service system said that although they faced major risks before the Taliban took over, their lives are now in greater danger and they urgently need protection.
A service provider in Badghis explained: "All these women working for this [support system]-now we need a shelter... We live in anxiety and fear every day."
A service provider in Nangarhar said: “I receive threats from the Taliban, Islamic State, perpetrators and family members every day.”
Another service provider based in Bamyan said: “I receive calls from three people who fled the prison every day. After receiving a call from the Taliban, I changed to a new number.”
These women were shocked when they saw the system they had worked so hard to build collapsed. A former judge told Amnesty International: "For 20 years, I have been trying to build everything from scratch-from this office to that office to promote and operate. I try to persuade everyone so that we have a framework to protect women... …From scratch requires a lot of courage, a lot of sacrifice and energy-and then it becomes useless again."
Since the Taliban took over, women and girls facing violence have nowhere to turn for help. A psychologist working with survivors of gender-based violence in Kabul told Amnesty International: “The Taliban does not have any procedures for handling these cases.”
A prosecutor involved in a gender-based violence case explained: “In the past, women could go to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. They could report the case individually. But now, if there is no mahram [male guardian], women are not allowed to go anywhere, which will change things. It’s very complicated."
Fariha* is often beaten by her husband and his relatives. She said: "[My husband] would pick up whatever he could find and hit me with it... Whenever he hits me, his family would gather to watch... This happens almost every day... He hit me on a wire for the first time...I have bruises all over my body. My hands and nails were scratched. After that, he only hit me below the waist. He would tell me,'I'll look at these Hit you where it is missing (your genitals and buttocks)'."
Faliha was nine months pregnant when interviewed by Amnesty International, and she desperately sought a safe place to stay. She added: "Before, there was a shelter, and I went to that place. I asked them to take me in. They said it is not running now and we cannot accept any new cases... I have no choice."
Adilia* was forced to marry an 80-year-old man at the age of 7. She said: "I lived with him for a year, and he beat me every day and said,'Why aren't you pregnant?'"
Adilia ran away but later remarried and was often beaten and other forms of violence and abuse by her second husband and relatives. When she talked to Amnesty International, she was recently transferred to one of the few shelters still operating in Afghanistan.
She said: "We are scared now... how long are we going to stay? The Taliban came to the shelter at 12am, 1am and many times during the day. We told [them] it was a safe place for us, but They won’t believe us...we are no longer safe anywhere."
From October 26 to November 24, 2021, Amnesty International conducted telephone interviews with six survivors and 20 individuals participating in the protection service system, including the directors and staff of the shelter, prosecutors, judges, and psychologists. Physicians, doctors and representatives of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Amnesty International also interviewed 18 local activists, journalists, representatives of NGOs and the United Nations, as well as other experts on gender violence in Afghanistan.
Note: *Name has been changed to protect identity.
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