Religious scholars should prevent escalation of violence against women in Afghanistan: Human Rights Activists
Written By: Hakim Bigzaad
The Afghanistan Human Rights Activists Council has urged religious scholars to intervene and stop the ongoing detention of girls by the Taliban administration in Kabul and various provinces. They seek to prevent further escalation of violence against women in the country.
In a statement issued on Saturday, January 27th, the Council expressed concern that the actions of the Taliban are becoming increasingly hostile towards women. However, Tahera Naseri, a women’s rights advocate and the founder of the Women’s Freedom Movement, argues that the Taliban and religious scholars share a similar perspective on women. Consequently, human rights activists in Afghanistan do not expect any practical results from religious scholars in preventing the violence.
She explained in an interview with Khaama Press that no religious scholar has protested or expressed dissatisfaction against more than 50 restrictive directives issued by the Taliban’s leadership that affect women’s lives. Therefore, there is no expectation for religious scholars to intervene to prevent violence.
It is worth noting that a recent video recording featuring Mullah Yahya Anabi, the imam of a mosque in Panjshir, has surfaced, where he praises the Taliban for detaining Hazara girls.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also reported that Taliban security forces under the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have detained more girls in the western part of Kabul, predominantly inhabited by the Hazara ethnic group, and in the Khair Khana district, predominantly inhabited by Tajiks.
Meanwhile, Shiite religious scholars in western Kabul previously requested that officials from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice hand over the issue of girls’ hijab (veiling) to them and prevent the detention of girls and their transfer to security agencies.
Human rights activists in Afghanistan continue to urge organizations and UN human rights rapporteurs to document and report on “crimes against humanity” in Afghanistan.
The Council’s statement also calls on countries to refrain from recognizing the government of the Taliban due to widespread human rights violations. The issue of recent detentions of girls has raised serious concerns among citizens, particularly regarding the humiliation and denigration of girls and women by UNAMA.
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