Taliban puts battered Afghan women in jail – UN

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is putting women who have survived abuse in prison, saying it is for their safety, a UN report says.

The UN said that doing this thing hurts the mental and physical health of the survivors.

The Taliban government doesn’t think there is a need for government-funded women’s shelters anymore. So, there are none.

The Taliban in Afghanistan treat women very badly and don’t give them rights.

The United Nations help group in Afghanistan said that violence against women and girls has always been a big problem, even before the Taliban took control of the country.

“But now, these types of incidents happen a lot because of the problems with money, finance, and people’s well-being in the country,” UNAMA said. More and more, women have been forced to stay at home. This makes them more likely to experience violence from their family or partner.

Before the Taliban took control again in 2021, there were 23 government-supported shelters for women’s safety in Afghanistan. According to UNAMA, these shelters have disappeared.

The Taliban officials told UNAMA that women should not need shelters because they should be with their husbands or male family members. Someone said that shelters like this are “a concept from the western world”.

The officials said they would ask the male family members to promise not to harm the woman survivor.

If there were no men in her family to stay with, or if she might be in danger, the survivor would be sent to prison to keep her safe. This is like how some people who are addicted to drugs and people who don’t have a home are given a place to live in the capital city of Kabul, according to UNAMA.

UNAMA said that this would mean taking away someone’s freedom without a good reason.

“Punishing women in a vulnerable situation by keeping them confined could make their mental and physical health worse. It could also make them feel like victims again and put them at risk of being discriminated against and stigmatized when they are released. ”

UNAMA said that the Taliban did not handle gender-based violence complaints clearly or consistently for a year starting on 15 August 2021.

For instance, it’s hard to tell the difference between criminal and civil complaints, which means women and girls might not get the legal help they need.

Most complaints are dealt with by men. The United Nations said that because there are not many women handling complaints, it makes it hard for survivors to speak up.

People who have experienced something bad can no longer be sure they will get help for their problems, like through the legal system or getting money to make up for what happened to them. UNAMA reported that people are scared of the Taliban government and how they do things, so they don’t want to ask for help from the official justice system.

Between 2001 and 2021, there were some moves to improve women’s rights, like changing laws and policies. But now, these changes have almost all gone away.

Since the Taliban took over again in 2021, they have almost completely gone back on their promises to allow women to work and go to school.

In Afghanistan, only young girls can go to primary school. Young girls and women are not allowed to go to school or college.

They can’t go to parks, gyms, and pools. Beauty shops are closed, and women have to cover their bodies except for their eyes. They need to have a male family member with them if they are traveling more than 72km (45 miles).