Name: Nastaran
Region: Kabul Province
The Taliban have taken the people of Afghanistan, especially women, hostage. This hostage-taking includes the closure of universities to Afghan girls, the removal of women from government institutions, and more. Despite these oppressive measures over the past four years, Afghan women have continued their resistance, demonstrating to both the Taliban and the international community that they have changed and will stand against injustice.
Although the Taliban’s efforts to suppress women persist, many of our colleagues have been imprisoned. Upon their release, they were no longer the same individuals—but their commitment to the struggle remained intact. The Taliban have arrested, detained, and tortured many protesting women who stood beside us in demonstrations. You may have heard of the imprisonment of Zarmina Pariani, Parwana Ibrahimkhel, Zarifa Yaqubi, and Julia Parsi—each of whom has shared harrowing accounts of Taliban abuses in prison.
Currently, the Taliban prohibit women from leaving their homes without a male guardian (mahram), yet they have imprisoned over 1,300 women without such guardians. Many of these women are held in solitary confinement, where there are no guarantees of safety or humane treatment.
Although most former detainees are unable to speak openly about their traumatic experiences, one account by a female protestor stands out. In an interview, she said:
“When the Taliban were taking me to prison, two male Taliban members sat on either side of me. I told them, ‘You call yourselves Muslims, yet you are taking me to prison without a mahram, sitting beside me, and even touching me. What relation do I have with you that you sit so close?’ They later forced me into the front seat of a vehicle, struck me on the head with a weapon until I lost consciousness, and when I awoke, I was in prison.”
Another close friend of ours was held in a room for 24 hours without any supervision or support and was subjected to punishment. We have dozens of similar accounts of Taliban abuses, though documenting and sharing them all would take considerable time.
For the Taliban, imprisoning women is an easy task. They do so without thought or justification. We have countless examples of their crimes.
