A women's rights advocate with Human Rights Watch (HRW) has expressed concern over the treatment of Afghan women activists currently held in Taliban detention.
Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at HRW, says the women detained by Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist rulers are facing inappropriate treatment in prisons.
"I have documented that women face adverse prison conditions and denial of due process," Barr said on January 19.
"They also face torture and are being subjected to horrible preconditions before being released," she added.
In addition, Barr said the Taliban was forcing families of detained women activists who don't comply with the rules to hand over their property documents.
"Their families are threatened that if these women create problems again, their property will be confiscated, and their families will become homeless," she said.
Leila Basim, a member of the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women, said another member of the movement, Munizha Siddiqi, had been languishing in Taliban captivity since her arrest on September 24.
"During the past two months, her family tried very hard to meet her in Kabul’s Pul-e Charkhi prison," she told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
Basim said that the family had agreed to all the Taliban's conditions, but Siddiqi is still being kept in prison.
"Every door they knock on is being shut to them, which is alarming," she said.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban government, did not respond to Radio Azadi's request for comment.
The Taliban government has neither confirmed nor denied the arrest of Siddiqi and other female campaigners. The number of women who are being held by the Taliban is unknown.
Since its return to power in August 2021, the Taliban has banned women from education, employment, and public life, with few exceptions, and since the beginning of this year, has arrested scores of women for allegedly violating its Islamic dress code.
SEE ALSO: Afghan Women Accuse Taliban Of Torture And Extortion Amid Dress Code CrackdownThe dress code and other regulations restricting women’s lives are based on the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law.