The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in its latest report, exposes an unprecedented wave of human rights violations during the first quarter of 2025 under Taliban rule—a wave marked by widespread repression of women, arbitrary detentions, public executions, and severe pressure on the media and civil society activists.
Between April and June, hundreds of human rights violations were recorded, ranging from arbitrary arrests of former military personnel to direct threats against female staff of aid organizations and the United Nations. Notably, women continue to face arrests and restrictions even when dressed in Taliban-approved attire, reflecting the regime’s relentless brutality.
UNAMA also highlights the mass detention of the Uzbek minority, including children, in Faryab province, and documents the killing of ten protesters in Badakhshan—signs of escalating ethnic and political discrimination that deepen the crisis.
Regarding women’s rights, the report reveals that the Taliban abruptly removed the names of women and girls from university entrance exam results, enforced mandatory full veiling, and imposed strict limitations on women’s movement, thereby severely violating their fundamental rights and narrowing their social space. From Herat to Kandahar, even female employees are only allowed to enter their workplaces if they possess a “mahram” identification card—a process fraught with obstacles and discrimination.
Social repression extends to recreational and public spaces, where women and girls have been barred from parks, stadiums, and public baths, while men enjoy unrestricted access. These measures underscore a deeply systemic and severe discrimination against women.
Despite Taliban claims permitting women to work under Islamic law, UNAMA reports the closure of beauty salons nationwide and the arrest of women secretly operating them. Female UN and partner organization staff have also faced death threats, prompting the UN to increase security measures.
Gender-based violence persists, including forced marriages, torture, and detentions of women. Despite a formal ban on forced marriages, some Taliban officials reportedly continue to perpetrate such abuses unofficially. Taliban courts claim to have reviewed thousands of women’s rights cases, but lack transparency, remaining instruments of repression.
Public executions, harsh punishments, and public floggings continue regularly; three public executions took place in Badghis, Nimroz, and Farah provinces, alongside hundreds of floggings witnessed by the public, portraying a horrifying and ongoing systematized violence.
Returnees—especially former government employees and civil society activists—face threats, arbitrary arrests, and torture. The proclaimed general amnesty by the Taliban is a hollow slogan. Widespread arrests of minorities, including Uzbeks, have heightened concerns over ethnic discrimination.
Media outlets endure intense pressure; bans on broadcasting live images and political programs, new censorship directives, and arrests of media activists have led many outlets to close or downsize.
Security incidents have cast a dark shadow over Afghanistan’s human rights situation, including civilian casualties caused by planted explosives, border clashes with Pakistan, and the killing of dozens of protesters in Badakhshan and other provinces.
Ultimately, UNAMA calls on the international community to break its silence on these systematic violations, halt forced returns of refugees, and apply the necessary pressure to end repression and human rights abuses.
