Afghan People Are Living A 'Humanitarian And Human Rights Nightmare,' HRW Says

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged donor countries to find ways to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan without reinforcing the Taliban's repressive policies against women, girls, and media.

In an August 10 statement, HRW pointed to the devastating effect of the Taliban edict banning women from working in local and international nongovernmental organizations, which has resulted in them facing additional difficulties in getting access to food, health care, and housing.

The Taliban edict denying women and girls access to education has also contributed to the deepening of Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, HRW said.

“Taliban’s misogynist policies show a complete disregard for women’s basic rights,” said HRW's Fereshta Abbasi, adding that the group's gender restrictive measures harm the whole of Afghan society, not only women.

Abbasi said Afghans are currently living a “humanitarian and human rights nightmare under Taliban rule.”

She urged the militant group's leadership to abandon their "abusive rules and policies" and called on the international community to hold them accountable for the worsening situation in the war-wracked country.

Afghanistan lost development assistance and financial support from Western donors after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces at the end of August 2021.

After falling under Taliban rule again, Afghanistan became one of the world’s worst crisis-hit areas, with more than 28 million people -- or about two-thirds of the whole population -- urgently in need of humanitarian aid, HRW said.

“The Taliban’s response to Afghanistan’s overwhelming humanitarian crisis has been to further crush women’s rights and any dissent,” Abbasi said. “Governments engaging with the Taliban should press them to urgently reverse course and restore all Afghans’ fundamental rights while providing vital assistance to the Afghan population.”