By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
September 29, 2023
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on the Taliban on September 29 to cease “arbitrary arrests and detentions” as it highlighted the recent apprehension of two women’s rights activists in Kabul.
The UNAMA said in a statement that Neda Parwani and Zholya Parsi had been detained for the past 10 days and expressed deep concern over the arrests and detentions of other individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion.
The statement emphasized that such actions run counter to Afghanistan’s international human rights commitments. It also urged the country’s Taliban-led government to give them access to legal and medical aid.
“Ongoing arrests and detentions of individuals simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion is deeply troubling and contrary to Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations,” UNAMA said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
There was no immediate response from Taliban authorities.
Since seizing power in August 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of international troops, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law on the country that largely excludes women from education, employment outside the home, and public life.
In its statement, UNAMA also named three other people it said were in detention — journalist Mortaza Behbudi, education activist Matiullah Wesa, and university professor Rasul Parsi.
“UNAMA calls for the de facto authorities to cease arbitrary arrests and detentions and to ensure that all those detained are afforded access to family, lawyers and medical care and have their rights to a fair trial upheld,” the mission said.
At the same time, Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, said he was “seriously alarmed” by the detention of Parsi and Parwana and requested their immediate and unconditional release.
Meanwhile, Afghan women in Islamabad, Pakistan, protested the arrest of members of civil society in Afghanistan, citing the detention of Parsi and Parwani in particular.
A recording of the protest during which participants demanded their unconditional release was sent to RFE/RL Radio Azadi by a prominent women’s rights activist.
With reporting by AFP