Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights should be investigated as possible crimes under international law, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists said in a joint report on Friday.

The report issued by the two non-governmental organisations based in London and Geneva details the Taliban’s restrictions on the rights of Afghanistan’s women and girls.

Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have drastically restricted rights, and their rule has become increasingly authoritarian.

Women’s access to education and work has been limited, along with their ability to travel and access medical care.

“These are international crimes. They are organised, widespread, systematic,” Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard said.

The organisations have called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include “the crime against humanity of gender persecution” in their ongoing investigation into the situation in Afghanistan.

They also called on the international community to discuss “gender persecution and other possible crimes under international law by the Taliban” in the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session.

Ms Callamard said the Taliban’s actions needed a more robust international response than what had been seen to date.

“There is only one outcome acceptable: this system of gender oppression and persecution must be dismantled,” she said.

The Taliban authorities, who claim they have formed an “Islamic system” following the expulsion of the U.S.-led NATO forces from the country, have not yet commented on the report. Previously, the Taliban called such reports biased and propaganda against them.

In April, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Taliban to ensure “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls” in Afghanistan. 

(dpa/NAN)