Taliban officials gathered at Afghanistan’s traditional Loya Jirga assembly on Saturday to commemorate five years since their return to power on August 15, 2021. The government presented its rule as bringing stability and ending decades of conflict following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.
However, a UN special rapporteur issued warnings about conditions in the country. Richard Bennett stated in a video message that Afghanistan faces a deep human rights crisis, with the human rights situation deteriorating significantly for women and girls. Bennett characterized the treatment of women as constituting what he described as a crime against humanity of gender persecution, extending beyond gender discrimination to what he termed gender apartheid. He also noted that the UN continues to document arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and persecution of minorities.
The Taliban administration has implemented various restrictions on women and girls since taking power. Girls over age 12 are barred from attending school, and women are banned from higher education, public spaces such as gyms and parks, participation in sports, and travel to distant locations without a male guardian. These measures contradict pledges made before the Taliban’s takeover that women would have access to education, employment, and public participation. UNESCO estimates approximately 2.4 million girls have been excluded from secondary education as a result of these policies.
At the Loya Jirga ceremony, attended by government officials, some foreign representatives, and thousands of citizens, speakers emphasized what they described as Afghanistan’s liberation and restoration of security. Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi referenced reductions in casualties and suffering under Taliban rule. No women were present at the ceremony.
The Taliban government remains largely isolated internationally, with Russia being the only country to have formally recognized it. UN agencies including UNESCO, the World Food Program, and UN Women have documented additional concerns, including child malnutrition reaching critical levels in some provinces and shortages of female teachers, doctors, nurses, and midwives affecting social and economic development.
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