In an unprecedented legal move, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced today that they are seeking arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders over systematic persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan by their regime, labelling these policies as potential crimes against humanity.
Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), stated that his office has collected strong evidence showing that Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women constitutes a systematic campaign of gender-based oppression which was officially implemented as part of state policy after they returned to power in 2021.
“There is strong evidence to indicate that Taliban leaders bear criminal responsibility for depriving women and girls of fundamental rights, such as education, employment and freedom of movement,” Khan stated during a press conference held at The Hague.
These charges would mark a landmark event in ICC history; gender persecution would become its own stand-in crime and Taliban would face formal international legal action for its domestic policies.
According to the ICC, evidence presented included decrees banning secondary and university education for girls; restrictions on women working outside the home; requirements that women be accompanied in public by male guardians, as well as public beatings and imprisonment for violating strict dress codes or attempts at protest.
“These incidents aren’t isolated incidents,” Khan claimed. “Rather, they form part of a coordinated and carefully orchestrated system of repression targeting half of Afghanistan’s population due to gender.”
The court did not name those for whom arrest warrants are being issued, though legal experts speculate they include high-level authorities such as Hibatullah Akhundzada or top officials within the Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice.
The Taliban has not officially responded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) announcement; however, previous statements by Taliban spokespeople have dismissed any criticism of their governance as foreign interference and have insisted that its policies are grounded in Islamic law and Afghan cultural traditions.
Human rights groups praised the International Criminal Court (ICC) move, calling it an essential step toward justice and accountability.
“Today marks an historic moment for Afghan women,” stated Heather Barr, Associate Director of Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban must be held responsible for turning Afghanistan into a prison for millions of women and girls.”
Since the Taliban took control in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, international aid to Afghanistan has been drastically cut and it has fallen deeper into economic and humanitarian crisis – having particularly devastating repercussions for women who have been shut out from public life and denied basic rights.
The announcement by the International Criminal Court (ICC) should increase diplomatic pressure against Taliban officials; however, its enforcement remains uncertain due to Afghanistan not signing onto Rome Statute and lack of international recognition by Taliban government.
Still, rights advocates hope the legal action sends an important message.
“Silence is complicity,” Khan noted, and it is essential that we act when fundamental human rights are being stripped away on such an overwhelming scale.