An Afghan woman walks past a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 6, 2023.
Since seizing power in 2021, Afghanistan's Taliban administration has rolled back hard-fought rights won by Afghan women and girls during two decades of rule by American-backed governments.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor on Thursday said he had applied for arrest warrants for Taliban leaders, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of crimes against humanity for widespread discrimination against women and girls.
Following are details of the crackdown on rights imposed by the Islamist movement:
- Akhundzada ratified morality laws - widely criticised by rights groups as draconian - that included requiring women to cover their faces and also barring them from travelling without a male guardian.
- Taliban authorities have said Afghan women will no longer be allowed into public and amusement parks.
- Gyms and fitness centres for women have been banned across the country.
- The Taliban ordered the closing down of hundreds of beauty salons meant for women.
- Girls are allowed to go to school until the age of 12, or grade 6. Education after this has been disallowed, including for women who were already studying in universities.
- Women have been banned from most public sector jobs and employment with NGOs and are only allowed to work in certain specific situations, such as healthcare.
- The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs and that they are internal matters that should be addressed locally.
- Their policies have been widely criticized internationally, however, including by Muslim-majority country's governments. Western diplomats have said any steps towards official recognition of the Taliban are blocked until their administration changes course on women's rights.
- The education bar on women, backed by Akhundzada and his conservative aides, is opposed by some senior Taliban leaders, who support moves to reintegrate Afghanistan into the global community.