Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has slammed the Taliban for deepening repression in Afghanistan, warning that four years of its rule have brought sweeping restrictions on women, attacks on press freedom, and a humanitarian crisis worsened by mass refugee returns and international aid cuts.
In a statement marking the Taliban’s fourth year in power, HRW’s Fereshta Abbasi said, “The Taliban’s abhorrent acts should compel governments to support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership to account.” HRW accused the group of detaining dissenters, raiding public spaces, and harshly enforcing a repressive “morality” law that dictates personal behavior, bans women from traveling without male guardians, and criminalizes social contact between men and women.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has banned girls’ education, restricted women’s mobility, and used local “virtue and vice” committees to monitor civilians. Women are now barred from public transport, and drivers face punishment for transporting them without a male guardian. HRW also accused the Taliban of censoring media and arresting citizens over dress codes and phone content.
Compounding the crisis, nearly 2 million Afghan refugees have been expelled from Iran and Pakistan, while donor nations slash aid. Germany recently deported 81 Afghans to Kabul, and the U.S. has cut refugee programs and removed protections for Afghans under President Trump’s new immigration policies.
Over 400 health clinics have shut down due to funding cuts, threatening basic services, while widespread malnutrition and a lack of education options for girls add to the mounting crisis.
HRW urged international governments to halt forced deportations and restore humanitarian aid, warning, “No country should be forcibly returning any Afghans.”
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