8am: Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily show that the Taliban have imprisoned dozens of women in various provinces over the past nearly three years on various charges. Findings indicate that all detainees, contrary to the principles of fair trial in the Taliban’s penal system, have been subjected to humiliation, torture, and harassment, and some have faced sexual assault. In most provinces, the Taliban do not have separate women’s prisons and have allocated a section of male prisons to women. Alongside the lack of separate facilities for women, this group has subjected detainees to verbal, physical, and psychological abuse. Two women in this report have confirmed that they were sexually assaulted by the Taliban and have also witnessed assaults on other women. One woman, released from the Pul-e Charkhi prison, recounts that due to the dire health conditions in this prison, her hair was infested with lice, and there is no healthcare, especially menstrual services, available in this prison. Furthermore, a credible source in the province of Badakhshan claims that some Taliban officials attempt to take “tall and beautiful” female prisoners to their homes overnight and return them to prison in the morning. Findings of the Hasht-e Subh Daily from Uruzgan province also indicate that when women are detained, they are held in the residences of Taliban officials until they are transferred to the Kandahar provincial prison. Click here to read more (external link).
