Four female activists in Afghanistan who went missing several weeks ago have been released by the country’s de facto Taliban authorities, the United Nations said on February 13.
The four women -- Tamana Paryani, Parwana Ibrahimkhel, Zahra Mohammadi, and Mursal Ayar -- went missing after attending an anti-Taliban rally in Kabul.
The Taliban repeatedly denied detaining them.
“After a long period of uncertainty about their whereabouts and safety, the four ‘disappeared’ Afghan women activists, as well as their relatives who also went missing, have all been released by the de facto authorities,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) posted on Twitter.
It was not immediately clear where the women had been or what they had undergone.
Ibrahimkhel and Paryani have been missing since January 19. Mohammadi and Ayar went missing in early February.
Shortly before her disappearance, Paryani posted a video on social media in which she warned that Taliban militia were at her door.
Since taking power in Afghanistan in August, the Taliban has cracked down on dissent and have dispersed rallies calling for women’s rights to be observed and have detained critics and journalists.