Reports of the Taliban abducting young girls in various parts of Afghanistan frequently appear on social media and local Afghan media. Taliban fighters arrest these girls under various pretexts and then subject them to sexual abuse and rape. Due to the sensitivity of the issue and the stigma it brings to families, these incidents often go unreported.
The body of a 16-year-old girl from Shirin Tagab district in Faryab province has been widely circulated on social media. This girl was first gang-raped by a group of Taliban and then murdered.
The most recent case that received widespread media attention is the abduction of a 19-year-old girl named Tahira in the Panjab district of Bamiyan province. This girl, who owned a tailor shop in the center of Panjab district, was forcibly taken by the Taliban while returning home and was thrown into a military vehicle. It is said that she was held by the Taliban for three days, during which she was sexually assaulted. She was released in the city of Bamiyan after protests and efforts by the local people. Tahira filed an official complaint against the Taliban, but no one came to her aid. (An image of her complaint form was circulated in the media.)
Tahira, forced by circumstance, went back to her home in Tagab Berg village, Panjab district, and word quickly got around. Sadly, she was killed at her house on the night of July 27, 2024. There are different accounts of her death—some claim she took her own life, while others suggest the Taliban broke into her home and killed her to hide their wrongdoing.
Local sources said that Tahira was 19 years old, had studied up to the ninth grade, and had turned to tailoring due to her family's economic problems. Several other reports of suicides of young girls in different parts of Afghanistan have been released in recent days. However, Tahira's death is one of the rare cases that has been reflected in more detail in the domestic media.
The abduction and mistreatment of girls by the Taliban have deeply worried Afghan families. This crime by the Taliban leads more families to prevent their daughters from leaving the house, which adds to the suffering of the girls.