Afghan human rights activist was raped and tortured by armed men in a Taliban prisonaccording to a video in possession of The Guardian. This material is considered the First direct evidence of sexual violence in Taliban prisons.
The newspaper cited indicated that the images They show the woman forced to strip before suffering multiple sexual assaults by two men. The recording was made with a mobile phone by one of the attackers and later sent to the victim as threat to release the video if he continued to denounce the Taliban regime.
The activist went into exile after the attack and said she was arrested for participating in an anti-Taliban protest..
Similar rapes and torture have been reported by other activists and protesters. Zarifa Yaqubi and Parwana Nejarabiboth activists detained and tortured by the Taliban, shared their experiences of sexual abuse and physical violence During his imprisonment, Nejarabi said he was shown a letter containing a stoning sentence and heard discussions about his possible execution.
Afghan women in Kabul (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi/File)Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, Afghanistan has seen an increase in repression against womenwith what many describe as a “gender apartheidWomen are prohibited from attending secondary schools, working in most paid jobs, accessing public spaces such as parks and gyms, and must adhere to strict dress codes.
Human rights officials, such as the UN Special Rapporteur, Richard Bennett; and Heather Barrfrom Human Rights Watch, have expressed their concern about impunity with which the Taliban operate and the stigma surrounding sexual violence in Afghanistan, which makes it difficult for victims to report attacks.
These statements and testimonies add to the growing number of reports of abuses and the reintroduction of punitive practices such as flogging and public stoning under Taliban rule.
A recent meeting in Doha organized by the UN to discuss the future of Afghanistan did not include Afghan women or address women’s rightssuggesting a lack of international attention to these serious violations.
Two Afghan women walk through Kabul (EFE/HEDAYATULLAH AMID)Chilling testimonies
The Guardian and the Afghan women’s organization Rukhshana Media They spoke with other protesters and activists who also reported having been tortured and beaten after being arrested for demanding women’s rights.
Zarifa Yaqubi30 years old, narrated that She was imprisoned for 41 days in November 2022 after trying to organize a movement for Afghan women. “I was given electric shocks and hit with cables on parts of my body.“She told the British media, adding that she had been tortured to admit to having accepted money from foreigners to protest against the Taliban.
For its part, Parwana Nejarabi23, said that the Taliban forces they hit and they applied it to him electric shocks after she was arrested while protesting for women’s rights in early 2022. She said that He spent a month in solitary confinement and? They showed her a letter with an order to stone her to death. “I could hear them saying, ‘They should kill her.’“She said. She was released after a forced confession and fled Afghanistan to live in exile.
A women’s protest in Kabul (EFE/Moncho Torres/Archive)Despite the enormous risks to their safety, Women in Afghanistan continue to organize public protests and criticize the Taliban regime. Rukhshana Media counted At least 221 protests by women and girls in the last two years.
Heather Barrassociate director of the women’s rights division of Human Rights Watchsaid that the Taliban continue to act with “Total impunity for abuses, particularly behind prison walls”.
“The Taliban are aware of the huge stigma surrounding the issue of sexual violence in Afghanistan and how incredibly difficult – and often impossible – it is for victims of sexual violence to come forward and tell their stories, sometimes even to their own families because there is a risk of shame and potentially ‘honour’ violence,” she said.
Meanwhile, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennetthe stressed: “I am alarmed by reports of torture and ill-treatment in Afghanistanincluding complaints of sexual violence during detention, especially against women.” He concluded: “We continue to investigate these reports and try to clarify the facts.”
Source: Infobae
