ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over persecution of Afghan women
ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over persecution of Afghan women
M.U.H
09/07/202519
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders after accusing them of crimes against humanity for persecuting women and girls.
ICC judges on Tuesday said there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect Taliban spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhunzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani are guilty of committing gender-based persecution.
The Taliban had “severely deprived” girls and women of the rights to education, privacy, and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience, and religion, ICC judges said.
“In addition, other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban’s policy on gender.”
The Hague-based court said the alleged crimes had been committed between August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power, and continued until at least January 20, 2025.
“While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court said in a statement.
After sweeping back to power in August 2021, the Taliban authorities pledged a softer rule than their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.
But they quickly imposed restrictions on women and girls that the United Nations has labeled “gender apartheid.”
The Taliban authorities barred girls from secondary school and women from university in the first 18 months, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to impose such bans.
Authorities imposed restrictions on women working for non-governmental groups and other employment, with thousands of women losing government jobs.
When requesting the arrest warrants in January, chief prosecutor Karim Khan said Afghan women and girls were facing “an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban.”
“Our action signals that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable,” he added.
Khan warned at the time he would soon be seeking additional warrants for other Taliban officials.
In 2024, the United Nations accused the Taliban authorities of barring at least 1.4 million girls of their right to an education during their time in power.
