Uwazi

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the arrests of three Hazara women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Afghanistan. The arrests happened amidst the Taliban’s ongoing gender apartheid and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities.

On 28 March 2024, the Taliban arrested and detained WHRDs Azada Rezaei, Nadia Rezaei, and Elaha Rezaei alongside their brother, Yahya Rezaei. Two of the sisters are minors. In 2022, their sister Tamana was also detained for 29 days.

The Rezaeis’ whereabouts are currently unknown. Taliban representatives have denied involvement, while the Kabul police have failed to provide any information.

FORUM-ASIA calls for the immediate release of the Rezaei siblings. We also call for the safe return of WHRD Manizha Sediqqi, whose health conditions have been deteriorating under detention.

The Taliban’s persecution of human rights defenders

The Rezaei sisters are members of the Afghan Women’s Justice Movement, a women-led initiative that fearlessly challenges the Taliban’s discriminatory policies. The Rezaeis belong to the Shia Hazara community, a persecuted ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan that has endured a ‘slow genocide’ under the Taliban.

Under Taliban custody, human rights defenders experience torture and ill-treatment, impacting not only their physical health but also their mental well-being. The threats and harassment also extend to their families, including intimidation, house searches, revenge killing, and enforced marriages.

WHRDs are at the forefront of resisting the Taliban’s oppressive regime.

Since the Taliban’s illegitimate takeover in 2021, several protest movements have been courageously and peacefully led by WHRDs despite the country’s shrinking civic space. However, in the absence of accountability, human rights defenders–within Afghanistan and those in exile–face numerous obstacles as they advocate for the protection and promotion of people’s fundamental rights and freedoms.

Call to Action

FORUM-ASIA calls for the immediate release of the Rezaie siblings alongside all other defenders who have been unjustly detained for their legitimate human rights work.

‘FORUM-ASIA urges the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for all its atrocious crimes, demanding them to fully respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Afghanistan as protected under the country’s international human rights commitments. The international community must help in providing hassle-free humanitarian visas and in establishing safe resettlement schemes for human rights defenders from Afghanistan. Members of vulnerable ethnic and religious groups–such as the Hazaras–should be prioritised in these resettlement processes,’ said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.

We are also calling for greater support for Afghanistan’s civil society organisations and activists, including those in exile, to enable them to resume their invaluable advocacy work. Lastly, we demand the establishment of an international investigative accountability mechanism, which is capable of collecting, preserving, and analysing evidence related to all human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Mohammad Atef Daie, a university professor, has reportedly been sentenced to one year in prison by the Taliban’s military court in Kabul, according to local sources.

Sources confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Thursday, February 29th, that the Taliban handed down a “disciplinary imprisonment” to this university professor during this significant month of the year.

The Taliban’s military court imposed a one-year prison term on the professor for allegedly covering the electricity bill of the residence belonging to Zahir Aghbar, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan, and for accommodating Mohammad Aatef’s family in Aghbar’s house.

However, other sources suggest that the professor’s imprisonment stems from his activism on social media, where he advocated for girls’ education rights and criticized the Taliban’s actions, particularly regarding women’s rights.

According to these sources, Aatef has been denied legal representation by the Taliban, and his family is permitted only brief “window visits” lasting ten minutes every two weeks at Pol-e-Charkhi prison.

It is noteworthy that the Taliban demanded Mohammad Atef Daie on November 19, 2023, alleging his association with the “02 Intelligence Directorate” of the group before arresting him.

Mohammad Atef Daie previously taught at private universities in Kabul but was recently appointed as an advisor to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Taliban, recommended by the Union of Traders and Investors of the country.

He hails from the Piyawesht district in the Rokha district of Panjshir province.

Local sources have reported that the Taliban detained Jawid Noorzad Kakar, the deputy of student affairs at the Roshan Afghanistan Online University (RAOU) in Kabul.

Sources confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Sunday, January 14, that Taliban intelligence forces apprehended him in Kabul five days ago and transferred him to an undisclosed location.

According to sources, the Taliban detained Kakar due to his involvement with the “Roshan Afghanistan Online University (RAOU).”

Established on December 20, 2022, in response to the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education, “Roshan Afghanistan Online University (RAOU)” has since provided online education to several girls.

Efforts by Kakar’s colleagues and family to determine his fate have, so far, yielded no results.

The Taliban have not issued any statement on this matter.

It’s worth noting that, in addition to continuing their restrictions on women and girls, including closing the doors of education to girls above the sixth grade, the Taliban closed university gates to women and girls on December 20 of last year.

The Taliban’s persistent prohibition on women and girls’ education, study, and work has consistently generated widespread domestic and international reactions. However, the group has not yet responded positively to these reactions and demands.

In a recent development in the Ghor province, the Taliban have reportedly detained the chief of a private radio station, Abdul Salam Samim, for broadcasting messages from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

According to reliable local sources speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Friday, January 5th, Samim, the head of Radio Seda-ye Adalat (Voice of Justice Radio), spent a night in Taliban custody two days ago.

The reason behind his arrest, as confirmed by one source, was the dissemination of UNAMA messages through the radio station’s Facebook page.

The UNAMA messages, initially shared with local Ghor media for publication but later removed, underscored the significance of an educated population for a country’s prosperity. It emphasized education as a vital investment in a nation’s development, advocating for a fair and inclusive education system where both boys and girls can learn.

Interestingly, several other media outlets in Ghor also published and subsequently deleted these messages.

As of now, the Taliban in Ghor have not provided any comments on this incident.

The UNAMA, when contacted regarding the matter, has not issued any statements or indicated a potential request for the dissemination of these messages through Ghor media.

However, during a conversation with Hasht-e Subh Daily, a UNAMA employee mentioned that the organization has not been involved in specific projects, especially those related to disseminating awareness messages to local media, over the past two years.

This development is noteworthy given the broader context of the Taliban’s stringent restrictions on media outlets and journalists across the country since their takeover.

A Source within the Unity and Solidarity Women’s Movement in Kunduz Province has revealed the distressing news of a recent suicide within their ranks.

Speaking on the evening of Friday, January 5th, the source informed Hasht-e Subh Daily that the deceased member, identified as Bibi Gul Mohammadi, was laid to rest last Sunday.

Bibi Gul, a participant in a street protest, was detained by the Taliban in Kunduz in late September 2021. During her harrowing two-day captivity, she endured torture, as disclosed by the source.

Upon her release, Bibi Gul faced escalating pressure and restrictions from her family, which included being prohibited from communicating with her friends, according to the source.

The 21-year-old aspiring university student found herself on the brink of taking her entrance exams when the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan, thwarting her educational aspirations.

Simultaneously, there are reports highlighting the dire economic situation of Bibi Gul, which, coupled with family issues and Taliban restrictions, contributed to her tragic decision to end her life.

A member of the Unity and Solidarity Women’s Movement in Kunduz lamented that Bibi Gul’s case is not isolated, emphasizing that the Taliban has systematically imprisoned and tortured numerous girls, leaving them to grapple with severe psychological issues.

Despite efforts, Hasht-e Subh Daily was unsuccessful in establishing contact with the family of the deceased protester.

It is crucial to note that the confluence of poverty, domestic violence, and the myriad restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls has left them vulnerable to psychological harm, leading to instances of suicide. As of now, the Taliban has refrained from commenting on this tragic incident.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the release of two journalists who were arrested within a week of each other in Afghanistan – one while out reporting and the other after being tried and sentenced behind closed doors. The Taliban authorities must stop hounding independent media, RSF says.

“Press freedom has collapsed since the Taliban retook power in 2021, with journalists being subjected to arbitrary arrest and a crackdown on independent media. We call on the Taliban authorities to release Radio Nasim director Sultan Ali Javadi and Tamadon TV reporter Abdul Rahim Mohammadi immediately and to end their intimidation campaign against media professionals in Afghanistan.

South Asia Desk RSF Neither the GDI nor the local authorities have provided any information about the reason for Mohammadi’s arrest while working in the southern province of Kandahar on 4 December. According to RSF’s information, he was arrested at a Taliban checkpoint for failing to present an identity document and was then placed in detention. Tamadon TV is an independent media outlet that mainly targets Afghanistan’s Shia minority.

Javadi, whose now-closed news and entertainment radio station was based in Nili, the capital of the central province of Daykundi, was sentenced to a year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and “spying for foreign and infidel countries” at the end of a trial before a local court that was held behind closed doors and without a lawyer present. He was detained the next day.

Radio silence

Radio Nasim had been persecuted for three months, ever since 27 September, when the Daikundi GDI briefly arrested Javadi and two of his colleagues, Saifullah Rezaei and Mojtaba Qasemi, seized their equipment, and sealed the entrance to the radio station, which has not broadcast since then.

According to RSF’s sources, they were accused of broadcasting content from Radio Azadi, the Afghan branch of the US broadcaster Radio Free Europe (RFE)/Radio Liberty(RL), which was banned from broadcasting in Afghanistan in December 2022.

The three journalists were arrested again at their homes on 7 October for allegedly cooperating with foreign media critical of the Taliban. Rezaei and Qasemi were released after 11 days, while Javadi was not released until 24 October.

Reign of fear

The current crackdown on the media was preceded by the arrests of nine journalists in five provinces in the space of a week in the first half of August. Of the five privately-owned media outlets operating in Daykundi province before the Taliban takeover, three were ransacked after the previous government fell, and the GDI seized the equipment of the others. Radio Nasim’s closure leaves Seday-e-Qarya as the only radio station still operating.

On 19 December, TOLO news journalist Ruhollah Sangar was released after being held by the GDI for two days in Parwan province, north of Kabul. He was arrested on 17 December by members of the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence while working in the town of Charikar, the capital of Parwan province. The local authorities and the Parwan GDI gave no official reason for his arrest.

Afghanistan is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2023 World Press Freedom Index. Three journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year and two are currently detained.

Local sources report that the Taliban have transferred Ahmad Fahim Azimi and Sadiqullah Afghan, two activists involved in girls’ education and members of the Afghan Robotics Girls’ Team, to Pul-e-Charkhi Prison after 72 days in the custody of the intelligence unit of the group’s 40th Division.

Sources on Wednesday, December 27, confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban recently transferred these two individuals to Pul-e-Charkhi Prison without holding a trial.

According to sources, the Taliban have denied these two education activists the right to have a lawyer during this period.

Nevertheless, the families of Ahmad Fahim and Sadiqullah are demanding the immediate release of these two education activists from Taliban custody.

The Taliban detained Fahim Azimi, an advocate for girls’ education, and his colleague on October 15 of this year from their office in Kart-e-Char, in the third district of Kabul.

Previously, Roya Mahboob, the leader of the Afghan Robotics Girls’ Team, had stated that the Taliban had detained Azimi and several colleagues from the “DCF” section of the team on charges of “assisting the evacuation of girls from the robotics team” and “organizing protests.”

It is worth noting that since their resurgence to power, the Taliban have detained and imprisoned several human rights activists and education advocates in the country, in addition to the former government military officials.

In response to persistent complaints of disruptions in the relief efforts of international organizations by the Taliban, the intelligence wing of the group has recently confiscated the mobile phones of surveyors from a contractor institution associated with the World Food Programme in Ghazni.

Sources in Ghazni reported to Hasht-e Subh Daily on Friday, December 8, that the Taliban seized and detained the mobile phones of at least 25 employees of the “HEAlTHO” institution, a contractor working with the World Food Programme in the Rashidan district.

According to sources, the Taliban have not disclosed the reasons for confiscating and detaining the mobile phones of these individuals, which also include their personal property.

Despite multiple visits by the employees of this institution to the district and the intelligence office in the area, they have not received a clear and affirmative response.

One source mentioned that with the confiscation of the phones of these employees, the process of assessing the needs of the residents in this district has come to a halt.

As of now, the Taliban in Ghazni have not provided any statements regarding this matter.

This incident is not the first report of disruptions in the humanitarian aid process by international institutions. Previously, the Taliban detained 18 employees of an international aid organization in Ghor, and recently, reports emerged regarding the cessation of operations of the German institution “GIZ” due to the detention of four of its employees by the Taliban.

Reliable sources have reported the detention of Pari Azada, a member of the “Afghan Women’s Movement for Justice and Freedom,” by the Taliban in Kabul.

Sources, in a conversation with Hasht-e Subh Daily, have confirmed that the Taliban apprehended this female protester around 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 15th, near the “Sar-e Kariz” area of Kabul and subsequently transferred her to an undisclosed location.

According to these sources, Pari Azada was taken into custody by the Taliban while she was having their protesting slogans printed at a local print shop.

As of now, the Taliban have not issued any comments on this incident.

This marks the fourth instance of a female protester being detained by the Taliban in Kabul in recent times.

Munizha Sediqi, Julia Parsi with her son, and Neda Parwani with her four-year-old child have been in Taliban custody for approximately two months, and their fate remains unknown.

Since their resurgence in Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on freedoms and women’s rights. In various instances, they have detained, tortured, and imprisoned women activists.

The family of Nabila Rahimi, a human rights activist, athlete, and health educator affiliated with a program of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reports that she has been detained by the Taliban in Takhar and is currently held in their custody.

Nabila Rahimi’s family members informed Hasht-e Subh Daily on Saturday, November 25, that she was arrested by the Taliban in Taliqan City, Takhar, for not ceasing her activities in providing psychological counseling to the public following the Taliban’s prohibition on women working. She is detained near Taliqan city’s Sarak-e Char area.

She was apprehended earlier this year by the Taliban and has been held in the Taliban’s women’s prison in Takhar since then.

According to Nabila’s family members, she was mistreated during her arrest by the Taliban.

They emphasize that repeated efforts and assurances made by them, local elders, and authorities to secure her release from the Taliban’s grasp have been fruitless.

The family claims that the Taliban have indicated releasing Nabila Rahimi to her family soon but have warned that, upon her release, she will be under house arrest for two months and will be monitored.

However, the Taliban have not provided a specific timeline for her release to her family as of yet.

One of the family members states, “All I wanted was the release of Nabila.”

Our source adds that she was only assisting the people and providing psychological counseling to former government employees, including female counselors.

The source did not grant permission to disclose the name of the institution where Nabila Rahimi worked, based on certain considerations.

The Taliban have not commented on the matter so far.

This incident occurred at a time when the Taliban had previously instructed their security entities to curb the activities of some health institutions in various northeastern provinces.

This local contractor has been detained and imprisoned by the Taliban at a time when the group has imposed significant restrictions on Afghan women, with the prohibition of women working being one of them.

Although the Taliban had previously claimed that female employees in the health sector would not be subject to these restrictions, it is evident that the group is not adhering to its commitments and promises.

Local sources in Mazar-i-Sharif city have reported the tragic suicide of a young woman named Homa, who took her own life after being released from a Taliban prison. The incident occurred on Saturday, November 4th.

Homa, a passionate protester against Taliban restrictions, was apprehended by the Taliban intelligence agency during a checkpoint inspection in the city’s seventh district of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday, October 30th. She remained in their custody for three days.

Although it has been alleged that Homa was a member of the women’s protest network opposing the Taliban’s restrictions on women, the women’s protest network in Balkh has not confirmed or denied her membership to Hasht-e Subh Daily.

Sources have revealed that Homa was 26 years old and had graduated in the field of education from Balkh University.

Reports indicate that Homa endured torture at the hands of the Taliban intelligence agency, with visible evidence of this brutality on her body. After her release from Taliban captivity, she tragically hanged herself from the ceiling of her room, putting an end to her life.

Homa’s body was laid to rest on the same day as her death, Saturday, November 4th.

As of now, the Taliban group in Balkh has not commented on this tragic event.

Throughout their more than two years of control in Afghanistan, the Taliban have consistently suppressed, arrested, and tortured female protesters. There have been documented instances of sexual assaults on women in their prisons as well.

Local sources have confirmed the tragic death of a young social activist who succumbed to torture while in a Taliban prison. The sources, speaking to Hasht-e Subh on Tuesday, October 17th, verified that the victim was Matiullah Fathzada, who passed away due to his injuries two days prior while in Taliban custody.

According to these sources, Matiullah had been arrested by the Taliban approximately a year and a half ago for sharing pictures of the National Resistance Front forces on his Facebook profile. He was a well-known figure in the Omarz district of Panjshir province and resided in the Khairkhana area of Kabul city. Importantly, he had no affiliations with any particular group, emphasizing his status as an independent activist.

As of now, Taliban officials have not released any comments regarding this incident.

It is noteworthy that since their resurgence to power, the Taliban have detained, imprisoned, and in some cases, executed hundreds of residents from northern provinces, particularly Panjshir province. These actions stem from accusations of collaboration with the National Resistance Front. In a recent incident, the group opened fire on a young man named Abdulaziz, a prominent figure from Panjshir, on Saturday, October 14th, following a verbal altercation in the Qala-e Fathullah area of Kabul city.

This heartbreaking event sheds light on the dire situation faced by activists and individuals critical of the Taliban regime in Kabul. The incident underscores the urgent need for international attention and intervention to protect human rights in Afghanistan during these challenging times.

Reliable sources have confirmed that the Taliban arrested and detained Manija Sadeqi, a member of the “Spontaneous Women’s Movement of Afghanistan,” 15 days ago.

Laila Basim, another member of the Spontaneous Women’s Movement of Afghanistan, confirmed on Monday, October 23, in an interview with Hasht-e Subh Daily, that the Taliban apprehended Manija Sadeqi on October 7, 15 days ago, in the Kart-e-Naw area of Kabul city.

According to Basim, despite the 15-day efforts by Sadeghi’s family to secure her release, they have been unsuccessful.

Basim states that the reason for detaining female protesters is their resistance against the Taliban’s misogynistic actions.

It is essential to note that the Taliban also detained Neda Parwani along with her child and husband on September 19 and Julia Parsi on October 26 this year from Kabul city. These two women are also members of the Spontaneous Women’s Movement of Afghanistan.

The arrest of Parwani and Parsi has sparked various reactions.

Despite repeated calls from human rights organizations for the release of the detained female protesters, the Taliban have remained unresponsive to their actions.

Informed sources have reported the detention of Neda Parwani, a member of the “Spontaneous Women’s Movement of Afghanistan,” by the Taliban in Kabul.

At least two reliable sources have confirmed to Hasht-e Subh that the Taliban apprehended Neda Parwani on the morning of Tuesday, September 19, in the Khairkhana area of Kabul and subsequently transferred her to an undisclosed location.

According to sources, the Taliban have also detained the husband and a four-year-old son of this female protester.

As of now, the Taliban has not issued any official statement regarding this incident.

It is important to highlight that since the emergence of women’s protests in the country, the Taliban have detained and subjected several female protesters to torture.

Sources attribute the Taliban’s detention of female protesters to extortion by this group, alleging that the Taliban demand “money” in exchange for the release of female activists from human rights organizations.

Zholia Parsi, a women’s rights activist, was arrested with her elder son by the Taliban in Qala-e-Fathullah area in Kabul on Wednesday morning, sources confirmed.

According to sources, Parsi was arrested from her home in Kabul and some of their belongings, including mobile phones and a number of documents, were taken away by the Taliban.

This is the second arrest of a women’s rights activist by the Taliban in less than a month.

Taliban has not commented on the matter so far.

More details will be added to this story.

Local officials in the central Afghan province where the Taliban detained 18 staffers for a long-serving humanitarian NGO earlier this month suggest the group was suspected of spreading Christianity, RFE/RL's Radio Azadi has learned.

Taliban intelligence and other officials in Kabul have remained silent over the detentions.

The International Assistance Mission (IAM) humanitarian group in Afghanistan on September 15 announced the detention of 18 team members from its offices in Ghor Province between September 3 and 13. It said they all appear to have been transferred to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

IAM and other information suggested the detainees comprise 17 Afghan nationals and a female American surgeon.

Early on September 16, IAM said it still "has not been informed of the reasons for the detention of our staff."

But Taliban officials in Ghor have accused them of spreading Christianity, which can be punished under strict interpretations of Islamic law in Afghanistan.

In a written message to Radio Azadi, Abdul Hai Zaim, the head of information and culture for the Taliban-led government for Ghor Province, confirmed the arrest of the IAM employees and claimed -- without providing evidence -- that they had been promoting Christianity.

The fundamentalist Taliban, who retook control of Afghanistan as U.S.-led international forces withdrew in 2021, have imposed a particularly harsh form of Shari'a law on the country when they have been in power at various points in the past four decades.

The internationally unrecognized Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has been accused by UN and other international officials of grave human rights offenses against non-Muslims, women, and minorities.

IAM said on September 16 that it had inquired with the Taliban-led Afghan government's Finance Ministry and was "working together with the UN and ACBAR, the coordinating body for NGOs in Afghanistan," to seek the release of the staff members.

IAM has worked in Afghanistan for nearly six decades, it said.

"IAM has worked in Afghanistan alongside Afghan communities for 57 years and we value and respect local customs and cultures. We stand by the principle that 'aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint,'" it said, adding, "All IAM staff agree to abide by the laws of Afghanistan."

In a recent and concerning development, Taliban fighters have reportedly detained eight individuals associated with the “Union and Solidarity of Afghan Women” movement following an attack on a gathering of women protesters in Kabul.

Sources reveal that the Taliban apprehended these eight individuals within Kabul city and have taken them into custody. The incident unfolded on Sunday, August 20th, when Taliban fighters executed the arrests from a confined location in the Khairkhana district of Kabul.

An insider source informed Hasht-e Subh that these women have been identified as Hajar, Khatol, Lima, Farida Moheb, Husna, and three others whose names are undisclosed. The source added, “The women had assembled to organize an event, but the location was surrounded, and they found themselves unable to leave.”

According to the source, as darkness descended, Taliban fighters entered the premises and apprehended the detained women. Photographic evidence obtained by Hasht-e Subh also indicates that Taliban fighters initiated an assault on the site where these women had gathered.

Meanwhile, the Union and Solidarity of Afghan Women’s movement verified the incident through an official statement, affirming that these women were detained before they could carry out their planned protest action.

The statement reads, “Members of this movement had planned to hold a protest in a confined area within Khairkhana Square in Kabul due to security concerns. However, before the protest could take place, Taliban forces stormed the site and detained eight of these women.”

It’s important to note that this isn’t the first instance of the Taliban detaining women activists. Since assuming control over Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed various restrictions on the country’s citizens.

In a concerning development, sources from Kabul have reported that the Taliban, approximately three months after the arrest of the human rights activist Shamsurrahman Rahiq, have now detained his younger brother.

According to informed sources in the city, the Taliban arrested Mohammad Mehrban Morshed on Wednesday, August 23rd, from Kabul’s third security district. The details of his whereabouts remain undisclosed.

Mohammad Mehrban Morshed is a third-year student at Kabul University, as per sources. The Taliban’s grounds for his arrest, however, remain unknown.

As of now, the Taliban has not issued any official statement regarding this matter.

It’s worth mentioning that on May 24, 2023, the Taliban intelligence forces arrested Shamsurrahman Rahiq for the second time in Kabul. Rahiq is a prominent human rights activist and resident of the Dara district of Panjshir province.

Rahiq is also reported to have previously worked as a staff member for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), although the organization has not yet commented on his case.

Based on the published reports, it is noted that about a year ago, the Taliban had forcibly taken Shamsurrahman Rahiq’s father from his home in Panjshir and shot him. His father was a former member of the previous government’s army.

On Thursday, August 10, officials from the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban’s intelligence agency, stormed the office of the independent Killid radio station in Jalalabad city, in eastern Nangarhar province, and detained its manager Faqirzai and reporter Saleh, according to the non-profit Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC)and a journalist with knowledge of the situation who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation by the Taliban.

Separately, also on Thursday, Taliban intelligence operatives entered offices of the independent Uranus TV network in Kunduz city in northern Afghanistan and detained Hasib Hassas, a journalist at the independent radio Salam Watandar, according to the AFJC and another journalist who spoke with CPJ anonymously due to fear of Taliban reprisal.

CPJ’s journalist sources said that Faqirzai, Saleh, and Hassas were detained on accusations that they reported for exiled media.

“The detention of journalists Faqir Mohammad Faqirzai, Jan Agha Saleh, and Hasib Hassas just before the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul shows the Taliban is determined to continue their brutal crackdown on the media,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Taliban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the three journalists and stop muzzling reporting, whether it is conducted for local media or the exiled press.”

The journalist sources said that the three were transferred to an undisclosed location; CPJ was unable to determine their whereabouts.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to a CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the country’s media have been in crisis, with journalists facing arrests, raids on offices, and beatings. The Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence has emerged as a key threat to journalists in the country. Some journalists who fled the country have established media outlets to continue reporting on Afghanistan in exile.

Taliban authorities must stop their relentless crackdown on the media in Afghanistan and allow private broadcaster Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV to continue its work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

On Sunday, July 30, about 20 members of the Taliban provincial police raided the office of Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV in Jalalabad city, in eastern Nangarhar province, after receiving information about a journalism training workshop attended by both male and female journalists from the broadcaster, according to news reports and a journalist familiar with the situation, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. On Tuesday, armed members of the Taliban provincial police then shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed its office, according to those sources.

“The Taliban must allow the broadcaster Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV to resume operations promptly and ensure its employees, including female journalists, are allowed unfettered access to professional training,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “It is appalling that the Taliban cracked down on a media outlet because of women’s participation at a journalism training session. Denying women of their rights has become the hallmark of the Taliban regime.”

Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV has 35 employees, including nine women, according to the journalist who spoke with CPJ. Under the Taliban, women face severe restrictions on education and employment, which the United Nations says have increased in recent months.

CPJ contacted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid for comment via messaging app but received no response.

In August 2022, CPJ published a special report about the media crisis in Afghanistan showing a rapid deterioration in press freedom characterized by censorship, arrests, assaults, and restrictions on women journalists since the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021.

Security forces used water cannons and fired guns into the air to disperse a women’s protest in Kabul on July 19 over the Taliban-led government’s decision to close women’s hair and beauty salons.

Dozens of women took part in the rare public protest in the center of the Afghan capital. They held a poster with the slogan: "Don't take away our bread and water."

Beauty salons are a source of livelihood for women in Afghanistan, where the Taliban-led government has curbed the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls in education and most forms of employment.

One female protester told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that Taliban security officers beat some of the demonstrators with batons and used tear gas to break up the demonstration.

"Yes, they were very violent. They fired shots in the air and sprayed water on us. They beat the girls. They took their mobile phones," one woman told Radio Azadi through WhatsApp. Another demonstrator also described the violence used by security forces against the women.

"They shot around us. They hit us with electric batons. They beat us with rods. We ran from alley to alley,” said the protester. “I am 15 years old, and I want to defend my mother's right, my sister's right, everyone's rights.”

Both women requested anonymity to protect themselves from retribution. Their accounts could not be independently verified.

The office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) responded on Twitter to reports of the crackdown.

“Reports of the forceful suppression of a peaceful protest by women against the ban on beauty salons -- the latest denial of women’s rights in #Afghanistan -- are deeply concerning. Afghans have the right to express views free from violence. De facto authorities must uphold this,” UNAMA said.

The Taliban government's order to close women's beauty salons was issued last month.The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a letter on June 24 conveying a verbal order from the supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. On July 4, Mohammad Sidik Akif Mahajar, a spokesman for the ministry, confirmed the contents of the letter, which had been circulating on social media.

The spokesman justified the order, saying the salons charge exorbitant amounts of money for makeup and that some of the procedures performed, such as plucking eyebrows and adding hair extensions, are illegal.

The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice gave women's salons a month to close their doors.

Local sources in Zabul report that the Taliban have prohibited the activities of Intersos, a humanitarian aid organization (HAO), due to its refusal to employ individuals designated by the Taliban in the province.

Sources informed Hasht-e Subh that the group sealed off the premises of Intersos, which operates in the healthcare sector, on Saturday, July 15.

The Taliban’s Public Health Directorate in Zabul has not commented on the suspension of Intersos in Qalat, the provincial capital.

However, an anonymous source from the organization stated that after Intersos declined to employ individuals designated by the Taliban, the Taliban authorities locked the premises.

This is the second time that Intersos activities have been halted in Zabul after officials of the organization refused to employ Taliban-designated individuals.

Meanwhile, earlier reports from Daykundi province stated that fifteen aid organizations have ceased operations in the province for several months due to Taliban intervention and extortion.

On June 18, Shahir was detained by members of the Taliban as he crossed the border from Iran to Afghanistan in the Zabul district when he was detained by Taliban authorities. According to a statement from the Pak-Afghan International Forum of Journalists (PAIF), Shahir was arrested by Taliban intelligence forces while travelling to Kabul and taken to an unknown location, where he was interrogated and tortured him. For two days, Shahir’s family had no knowledge of his whereabouts or fate.

It remains unclear whether Shahir was released from detention or if he escaped. Rahman Mirzad, a fellow journalist and colleague of Shahir, told 8am Media that Shahir had escaped from Taliban captivity on the night of June 19. A Taliban spokesperson in the Zabul province denied the journalist’s detainment.

Shahir, a reporter with Rah-e-Farda TV, left Afghanistan at the start of Taliban control in August 2021, taking refuge in Iran. His reportage is often critical of the Taliban regime and was previously targeted in April 2021 and June 2021. The journalist was returning to Kabul on June 18 due to issues with his Iranian visa.

The IFJ’s South Asia Press Freedom Report 2022-23 recorded 12 arrests of journalists in Afghanistan between May 1, 2022, and April 30 2023, with Shahir being the third Afghan journalist to be arrested this year. Mortaza Behboudi, a French-Afghan journalist living in France, was arrested on 7 January in Kabul, two days after arriving in Afghanistan. Days later, the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) detained freelance journalist Khairullah Parhar on January 9.

The IFJ said: “The arrest, detention and torture of Reza Shahir is yet another example of the Taliban’s ever-tightening grip on the media in Afghanistan. Journalists should not be arbitrarily targeted and must be able to work freely, without fear of restrictions or reprisals. The IFJ condemns Shahir’s arrest and calls on the Taliban to end its persecution of journalists in Afghanistan.”

Mojib Zia, a former civil society activist, was detained at Kabul airport on 16 May. He had worked as a media consultant for the Rahmani Foundation during the previous government but had been living in Iran since the Taliban takeover. He had returned to Afghanistan when his father died and was detained as he made his return journey to Iran. He was released in early June.

Local sources report that Taliban intelligence forces have detained a human rights activist for the second time in Kabul city.

According to the sources, the individual in question is named Shams al-Rahman Rahiq, and the Taliban arrested him on Monday, May 29, along with Ata al-Rahman, his uncle’s son, at the Gozargah area in Kabul city. They transferred him to an undisclosed location.

Although the motive behind Rahiq’s arrest is not yet known, sources quoting his relatives say that he has been detained due to his human rights activities.

Sources state that the Taliban had previously arrested Shams al-Rahman about a month ago and held him in prison for a while, but he was released again with the intervention of local elders.

It is worth mentioning that approximately a year ago, the Taliban forcibly removed Rahiq’s father from his home in Paktia and subjected him to physical assault.

Shams al-Rahman Rahiq is a resident of the Abdullahkhel valley in the Dara district of Panjshir province and had been living in Kabul city.

The Taliban has not commented on this matter so far.

It is said that he has also been an employee of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), but the organization has not yet expressed its opinion on the issue.

It should be noted that since their takeover, the Taliban have detained and imprisoned several civil activists and human rights defenders in various provinces of the country.

Local sources in Parwan province have reported the detention of a school principal by the Taliban.

Lutfullah, also known as Agha-Shirin, was arrested on Thursday, May 18th, in the Bagram district.

According to sources, Lutfullah is the principal of “Abdul Sattar Shahid” High School in the village of Dawlat Shahi in Bagram district, and the Taliban detained him a few days after he criticized the ban on girls’ education.

Sources state that the Taliban intelligence apprehended this school principal during an official meeting at the Education Department of Bagram district and transferred him to an undisclosed location.

The Taliban have not made any comments regarding this incident so far.

Previously, the Taliban had detained and imprisoned several individuals in various provinces of the country on similar charges and for criticizing the group’s governance methods.

In the most recent case in January, the group had detained a young man named Majid Ahmadi in Ghor province for criticizing the ban on girls’ education and transferred him to an undisclosed location.

Taliban fighters in Farah Province have detained, beaten, and imprisoned seventy farmers who were protesting the weak management of agricultural product prices in the market.

Sources told Hasht-e Subh that some farmers went to the province’s agriculture department on Wednesday, May 3, and protested. These farmers asked the Taliban’s agriculture department to collaborate with them in controlling the prices of their crops in the markets and to manage the price fluctuations throughout the day, which often drop from 100 to 20 Afghanis.

However, the Taliban not only did not pay attention to their protests and requests but also transferred these farmers by military vehicles to the security observatory in Farah.

Sources say that during the four-hour detention by the Taliban, these farmers were also beaten.

The main agricultural products of this season in Farah Province are eggplants, tomatoes, pumpkins, okra, and watermelons. The lack of storage space and the risk of spoilage are the main concerns of farmers in this province.

Taliban security officials in the province have not yet commented on the detention of protesting farmers.

Earlier, farmers in Farah Province had protested against the unprecedented drop in watermelon prices. In 2022, the price of each kilogram of watermelon in Farah had reached one Afghani.

On Thursday, March 30, authorities in the city of Faizabad, in Badakhshan province, shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed its office, according to news reports and an employee of the radio station who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

The officers at the scene, from the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture and Directorate of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, accused the outlet of illegally airing music during the holy month of Ramadan. The Taliban banned playing and listening to music when it retook power in August 2021.

The radio station employee who spoke to CPJ said she was not aware that any music had been aired, and believed that the decision was retaliation for the station’s programs focusing on women’s education and job opportunities in Badakhshan.

“The Taliban should immediately reverse its decision shuttering the Radio Sada e Banowan broadcaster and allow the outlet to reopen and work freely,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Taliban have deprived Afghan women of everything from jobs to education. Shutting down a women-run radio station shows there is no reprieve for the Afghan media even during the holy month of Ramadan. The Taliban must correct its course and stop cracking down on journalism.”

Radio Sada e Banowan was established in 2014 and owned by Afghan female journalist Najla Shirzad. Local Taliban officials allowed the radio station to restart operations not long after the group retook power. It has six employees, according to the person who spoke to CPJ.

CPJ contacted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid for comment via messaging app but did not receive any response.

In August 2022, CPJ published a special report about the media crisis in Afghanistan, showing a rapid deterioration in press freedom since the Taliban retook control of the country one year earlier, marked by censorship, arrests, assaults, and restrictions on women journalists.

At least 20 Afghan women marched in the capital, Kabul, on March 26 to demand the right to education for women and girls before being rounded up by a Taliban patrol.

The demonstration comes amid UN and other international condemnation over ongoing strictures under the Taliban-led government to keep women and girls out of schools, jobs, media, and other aspects of life since the hard-line militant group took power after U.S.-led international forces left in 2021.

Participants in the demonstration told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that Taliban enforcers arrived shortly after they began their planned march from the Red Bridge area in western Kabul and corralled the protesters to prevent them from continuing.

Video footage shared on social media showed around two dozen veiled women marching with small signs with "education is our right" written on them.

The demonstration was organized by the Afghan Women's Political Participation Network.

Organizers reportedly planned to march toward the Asif Mayel Girls' School, one of dozens of schools violently attacked by Taliban fighters or sympathizers.

"For almost two years, the future and fate of Afghan women have been taken hostage and we have been completely removed from society," one of the protesters, Momine Eftekhari, told Radio Azadi.

"Education is a standard with an educational curriculum that is the right of everyone. Not only is it the right of boys but girls, but unfortunately we have been deprived of education, work, and sports for more than 19 months."

She said the situation was "no longer tolerable [and] that's why we took to the streets."

Taliban Shut Down Women’s Voice Radio Station in Badakhshan

Local sources in Badakhshan report that the Taliban fighters have closed the door of Radio Sedaye Banovan (Women’s Voice Radio) in this province.

Local sources say that Taliban closed this radio station on Friday, March 10, in Fayzabad, the center of Badakhshan province.

Sources add that Taliban said during the closure of Women’s Voice Radio that its broadcasts were not in line with their policies.

The policies that Taliban had set for Women’s Radio in Badakhshan included not playing music, not broadcasting live programs by women, and not allowing female presenters to speak in a soft voice.

Officials of the Taliban in Badakhshan have warned the officials of this media outlet that they have no right to operate after this.

Women’s Voice Radio was the only media outlet for women in Badakhshan, which began operating about five years ago and continued to operate even after Taliban seized the power.

Local sources in Badakhshan province report that Taliban intelligence agency has arrested a university professor in this province.

Sources on Tuesday, April 5, said that the professor’s name is Sakhi-Dad Sangin and he is the English Language and Literature department professor at Badakhshan University.

Sources add that Taliban arrested him last week on charges of criticizing Taliban educational policies towards girls and the closure of girls’ schools in front of the gates of Badakhshan University as he was leaving the campus.

Meanwhile, another source says that Taliban has arrested him on charges of moral corruption.

This comes as Taliban have imprisoned their critics on similar charges in various provinces.

It is said that the students and faculty of Badakhshan University have not said anything about the arrest of this professor out of fear of Taliban.

Sources say that Sangin had been teaching at Badakhshan University as a professor for the past 10 years, and students have had no complaints about him.

Taliban have not commented on the arrest of this university professor.

Taliban have previously arrested and suppressed a large number of their critics.

In the latest case, they also arrested Mateullah Visa, the head of the Pen Path Foundation.

Sources confirm that three of the female protesters have been arrested by Taliban fighters in western Kabul.

Sources say that the protesters were arrested on Monday, following the disruption of their protest by Taliban in Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul city.

Malali Hashemi, Raqiya Sayee, and Fatima Mohammadi are the female protesters who have been arrested by Taliban.

Taliban in Kabul have not yet commented on the matter.

Some female protesters had taken to the streets this morning to protest the blockade of girls’ schools in Kabul. The protest was disrupted by Taliban fighters.

Sources said that Taliban intelligence operatives have arrested Mohammad Ismail Rahmani, a Pashto language writer, and social media influencer.

These sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence forces arrested Rahmani in Kabul on Saturday.

According to these sources, Rahmani has been transferred to an unknown location and his fate is not clear yet.

Ismail Rahmani received a master's degree in Shariah studies from Kabul University and has been a religious scholar.

Supporters and some Pashto writers have expressed concern about Rahmani's arrest and asked the Taliban to release him immediately.

Last week, the Taliban arrested social media influencers Sadullah Didan, also known as Haji Kaka, in Nangarhar province and Imran Ahmadzai in the capital city, Kabul.

On Sunday, the Taliban intelligence agency released a video clip of the forced confessions of these two Afghans, who admitted to anti-Taliban activities on their social media pages that have not been posted.

Taliban detained a social media influencer and former member of security forces in the previous government in Kabul, Afghanistan's vernacular media Reporterly reported. The victim has been identified as Abdul Rahim and originally is from the Dare Abdullah Khel area of Panjshir province. He was detained from district 3 of Kabul city on Thursday. Meanwhile, according to local sources, Taliban members also detained Imran Ahmadzai a social media influencer from his home in district 12 of Kabul. Reporterly citing local sources reported that Ahmadzai was detained on February 12 due to spreading anti-Taliban propaganda. On Facebook, Ahmadzai has 23,327 followers and his last video was about people running on Kabul Street with a caption of 'go towards turkey' on February 8, according to Reporterly.

On February 8, hundreds of Afghan citizens rushed to the Kabul airport, after there were rumours that the Taliban were sending Afghans to Turkey. Taliban members had violently engaged with the people and scattered them with aerial shots. Meanwhile, on February 16, Abdul Haq Hemad, director of media oversight at the Taliban's ministry of information and culture confirmed that the Taliban has arrested people who have been suspected of spreading rumours about the transfer of Afghans to Turkiye. While Hemad didn't provide details about the arrested people, it seems that Ahmadzai might have been one of these people arrested by the Taliban on charges of spreading rumours about Turkiye, reported Reporterly. Taliban continue to arrest Afghan citizens who have been active on social media, and/or with a work background in the previous Afghan government. These arrests particularly from the security forces have been mainly focused on Tajiks and Hazara ethnic groups. After the fall of the republic order on August 15, 2021, hundreds of former soldiers who have been unable to leave the country have been arrested, tortured, and even killed by the Taliban. Several audio tapes and a list of ex-soldiers, most of whom are abroad, have been circulating on social media, that talk about the Taliban's attempts to arrest former members of ANDSF, reported Reporterly.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they claimed they were committed to upholding and respecting human rights in the country. However, Amnesty has repeatedly documented crimes under international law and violations of human rights carried out by their members since then.

Those arrested recently include: Narges Sadat, a women’s rights defender; Professor Ismail Mashal, a campaigner for women’s education; Fardin Fedayee, a civil society activist; Zekria Asoli, an author and activist; Mortaza Behboudi, an Afghan-French journalist; former senator Qais Khan Wakili; and Afghan journalist Muhammad Yar Majroh.

To date, Amnesty understands only Professor Ismail Mashal has been released. In many cases of detention, no information is provided regarding the reason for the individual’s arrest and their whereabouts often remain unknown, which amounts to enforced disappearance.

Fardin Fedayee an Afghan civil society activist is abducted by Taliban four days ago while he left home for work in was taken and there is no news about his whereabout.

In the past few days, several civil society activists are arbitrary arrested in Afghanistan.

The Taliban arrested a civilian in Paktika whose brother had posted critical content on Facebook.

Local sources said on Saturday, January 21, that the young brother of this arrested person was a civil society activist in Paktika before the Taliban takeover and is currently in exile.

This civil activist, whose name is Mohammad Muqtasad, recently criticized the Taliban’s ban on university education for women in a Facebook post.

According to local sources, after this Facebook post, the Taliban arrested Ayaz Bacha, the brother of Mohammad Muqtasad, in Yusuf Khel district of Paktika province.

The Taliban in Paktika have not yet expressed their opinion in this regrad.

It should be mentioned that the Taliban recently arrested a poet in Paktika for writing a critical poem.

Sultan Ali Ziaei, a young Hazara activist, was arrested by the Taliban on January 7.

Sources tell BNN; Ali Ziaei is being arrested, who was talking to a group of women about closing schools, universities and banning women from working.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters entered the house and checked the girls’ phones and threatened to kill three of the girls. After that, they took Sultan Ali Ziaei with them.

Ali Ziaei is the only son of his family, now that his father is in a sick bed, he does not know about his son’s condition and wants his son’s release.

Sultan Ali Ziaei, a young Hazara activist, was arrested by the Taliban on January 7.

Sources tell BNN; Ali Ziaei is being arrested, who was talking to a group of women about closing schools, universities and banning women from working.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters entered the house and checked the girls’ phones and threatened to kill three of the girls. After that, they took Sultan Ali Ziaei with them.

Ali Ziaei is the only son of his family, now that his father is in a sick bed, he does not know about his son’s condition and wants his son’s release.

Sultan Ali Ziaei, a young Hazara activist, was arrested by the Taliban on January 7.

Sources tell BNN; Ali Ziaei is being arrested, who was talking to a group of women about closing schools, universities and banning women from working.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters entered the house and checked the girls’ phones and threatened to kill three of the girls. After that, they took Sultan Ali Ziaei with them.

Ali Ziaei is the only son of his family, now that his father is in a sick bed, he does not know about his son’s condition and wants his son’s release.

Sources confirmed to KabulNow that the Taliban arrested Rasul Abdi Parsi, a former lecturer at Herat University, in Kabul 20 days ago. However, his whereabouts and fate remain unknown.

Parsi was arrested for criticizing the Taliban on his Facebook account as he continued to write posts critical of the Taliban performance, his friends told KabulNow on Tuesday.

He had formerly taught Islamic sharia or Islamic laws at Herat University and has been living in the capital Kabul for a while.

Some university lecturers and his friends have launched a campaign in western Herat province for his release from Taliban custody. They warned that his life is at risk.

The Taliban has not commented on his arrest. The group has recently increased the arrests of activists, protesters, university lecturers, journalists, and human rights activists in recent months.

In the latest case, the group arrested Matiullah Wesa, an education campaigner, from Kabul on Monday. His arrest drew widespread reactions and calls for his release.

The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Monday welcomed the reported release of two women’s rights activists Nargis Sadat and Zakaria Osuli.

However, the mission said it remained concerned about ongoing arbitrary detention of a number of Afghanistan civil society activists, including rights defenders who had spoken out about rights of women and girls, some held incommunicado for months.

Sadat, member of the Leadership Council of the Movement, was detained on February 23 from Pul-i-Sokhta area of Kabul.

“We continue to engage with de facto authorities on cases but are dismayed by lack of information provided, despite ongoing requests, “ UNAMA said, calling for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained.

“No Afghan should be detained for exercising their freedom of expression”.

Before UNAMA tweet, Nargis Sadat’s husband confirmed to Voice of America that his wife had been released, but did not provide further details.

According to Voice of America, officials told her husband that his wife was against the regime and had anti-Taliban videos and pictures on her phone.

The caretaker government is yet to comment about the release of the two activists.

Sources confirmed that women’s rights activist Nargis Sadat was released after nearly two months in Taliban prison on Monday afternoon.

Two sources from her relatives and friends said Sadat returned home at around 1 pm Kabul time on Monday.

Taliban so far has not commented on her release.

Meanwhile, Zakaria Osuli, a university lecturer and writer, was released from Taliban prison, his family confirmed. His family said he returned home nearly at around 12 pm local time on Monday. Taliban has not commented on his release. Osuli was arrested in Khairkhana area in the north of Kabul on Feb. 2.

This comes as the women’s protest movement on Sunday, April 9, said that women’s rights activist Nargis Sadat who was arrested by the Taliban in February “has been severely tortured” while in custody and is “ill.”

The movement said in a statement that Sadat’s feet and hands have turned “black” and are swollen and covered in blisters. The movement also said she was in a critical psychological condition.

The movement added that over the past two weeks, Sadat has been kept with two other women in one cell. These two women have been charged with having links with Daesh.

According to the movement, Sadat is a leading member of the women’s protest movement and was arrested in Kabul on Feb. 11. She had been ill at the time and was on her way to a hospital when detained.

Reports indicate that at least five people, including a journalist, a musician, two activists and a university lecturer, are in Taliban custody for the past few weeks.

Taliban did not comment on remarks by the women’s movement.

A prominent Afghan campaigner for female education has been arrested by the Taliban, even as teenage girls and women remain barred from classrooms.

Matiullah Wesa, 30, had often received threats - he has spent years travelling across Afghanistan trying to improve access to education for all children.

The Taliban did not say why Mr Wesa is in custody. His house was also raided.

His arrest follows the detention of a number of other activists who have been campaigning for women's education.

In February Prof Ismail Mashal, an outspoken critic of the Taliban government's ban on education for women, was arrested in Kabul while handing out free books. He was freed on 5 March but has not spoken out since then.

Mr Wesa is one of the most prominent education activists in Afghanistan and, via his charity PenPath, has been campaigning for girls' right to study since the Taliban barred female education in 2021.

His last tweet - on Monday, the day of his arrest - was a photo of women volunteers for PenPath "asking for the Islamic rights to education for their daughters".

The UN's mission in Afghanistan has also highlighted Mr Wesa's case and called on the Taliban to clarify his whereabouts and the reasons for his detention.

Mr Wesa was arrested after he came out of a mosque in the capital Kabul on Monday.

"The Taliban came in two vehicles," a person close to the family told the BBC. "He was handcuffed and put in the car.

"Today at 10am, the Taliban went to his house and raided it. They turned it upside down, threatened his family against speaking out, seized phones, documents and computers. Matiullah's brothers were briefly detained and then released with a warning."

Mr Wesa has travelled to hundreds of districts in Afghanistan over the past decade to promote the cause of education.

The PenPath network he founded has more than 2,400 volunteers across the country. They help set up local classrooms, find teachers and distribute books and stationery.

The ban on girls attending secondary schools has not stopped Mr Wesa. "The damage that closure of schools causes is irreversible and undeniable," he tweeted last week.

Women's rights have been gradually eroded since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.

Only boys and male teachers were allowed into secondary schools when they reopened in September 2021.

There was a brief spell of hope following an announcement in March 2022 that girls would be allowed to attend secondary schools. But tearful schoolgirls were turned away after what appeared to be an abrupt U-turn by the Taliban leadership.

They said girls would be allowed to return to school after "a comprehensive plan has been prepared according to Sharia and Afghan culture". But in December 2022, female students were also barred from universities.

The Taliban say schools and universities are only temporarily closed to women and girls until a "suitable environment" can be created.

But women are severely curtailed in other ways too. The Taliban have decreed that women should be dressed in a way that only reveals their eyes, and must be accompanied by a male relative if they are travelling more than 72km (48 miles).

And last November, women were banned from parks, gyms and swimming pools, stripping away the simplest of freedoms. The enforcement of the rules is different in different areas, but the rules create an environment of fear and anxiety.

The restrictions have continued despite international condemnation and protests by ordinary women as well as activists speaking up on their behalf.

They have also hindered the work of foreign aid groups after the Taliban said women could not work in domestic and international NGOs except in the health sector.

Some organisations were forced to suspend services at a time when the country is reeling from a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.

Ghor Civil Society Network has called on the Taliban to release human rights activist Habiba Sharifi who was arrested after protesting outside the provincial governor’s office on Wednesday.

In a statement released on Thursday, the organization said that Habiba raised her voice for human rights and women’s rights, and that she had not committed a crime but had been arrested and imprisoned.

The network called on the Taliban to “tolerate” peaceful protests by Afghan women and stated they have a right to get an education and to work based on Islamic law.

The organization also called on the international community to step in and make the Taliban release Habiba and her father, who they also arrested.

Habiba Sharifi on Wednesday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), protested alone in front of the Taliban governor’s office in Ghor and held a poster with a slogan demanding education, work, and social justice for women.

The Taliban, however, arrested Habiba and her father later that day at their home.

According to sources, the Taliban are holding Habiba in Firozkoh prison and her father is being held at the group’s intelligence directorate.

The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said in his latest report this week that the situation in Afghanistan has significantly deteriorated and the Taliban are systematically and intentionally erasing Afghan women from public life.

The Taliban has not commented on the detention of Habiba Sharifi so far.

The Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan has led to the implementation of strict Islamic law, resulting in the complete ban on education for girls. The barbaric regime’s oppressive actions have left women and children in a constant state of fear, with the latest victim being Mrs. Zarifa Rahmat.

Prior to the Taliban’s reign, Mrs. Rahmat was a private school teacher, but after the extremist group took over, she was forced to abandon her profession. Despite the ban, Mrs. Rahmat continued to teach young girls in her neighborhood in Kabul. However, on the 15th of February, Mrs. Rahmat became a target of the Taliban’s ruthless oppression. At 1 AM, the Taliban’s intelligence unit, known as Directorate 40, forcefully broke into Mrs. Rahmat’s home and abducted her while she was sleeping with her children. The Taliban then contacted her family, instructing them not to inform anyone of the kidnapping and not to publish the news on social media, promising her release by 10 AM.

Desperate to find his daughter, Mrs. Rahmat’s father rushed to Kabul from Herat province. Upon arrival, he contacted the National Intelligence Unit (Directorate 40), only to be told by the Taliban that they had no knowledge of her whereabouts. However, after her husband, Mohammed Rahed, publicized the news on Facebook, the Taliban finally acknowledged that they had abducted her. They offered to release her on the condition that she leave Kabul and stop teaching young girls. She was to go to the Shendand district of Herat province, accompanied by her father, and was warned not to raise her voice.

It’s worth noting that this is not the first time Mrs. Rahmat has been harassed by the Taliban. A month prior, she was summoned by the 5th district of Kabul Police department for allegedly gathering women to protest for women’s rights. They confiscated her national ID card and passport, only returning the former, which later expired, causing her eVisa of Iran to lapse.

The abduction of Mrs. Rahmat is just one example of the Taliban’s brutal oppression of women and their denial of the basic human right to education. Women and girls are not only banned from going to school, but they are also prohibited from participating in any economic or social activities outside their homes without a male guardian. The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law has stripped women of their freedom and subjected them to a life of slavery. The international community has condemned the Taliban’s actions, and various organizations are calling for immediate action to protect women’s rights in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban remain defiant and continue to impose their strict laws. The tragic story of Mrs. Zarifa Rahmat is a stark reminder of the atrocities that Afghan women face daily, and the urgent need for action to protect their rights.

The Taliban’s rise to power has caused immeasurable suffering to the people of Afghanistan, especially women and children. The international community must take a stand against this barbaric regime and work to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls. The kidnapping of Mrs. Zarifa Rahmat is a tragic and heartbreaking reminder of the horrors that Afghan women endure under the Taliban’s oppressive rule.

Waheeda Mahrami, an Afghan women activist who was detained by the Taliban officials in the week, was released on Thursday, Afghanistan International reported.

Taliban had detained Waheeda Mahrami, a women activist on Monday, March 20 in Kabul, according to a source close to her. On March 8, the International Women’s Day Mahrami described the restrictions on Afghan women as “gender apartheid”, which eventually led to her detention.

It is reported that Mahrami had left her home on March 20 to attend an event celebrating the ancient New Year (Nowruz) festival, but never returned home since then.

The Taliban authorities have not yet commented about the woman activist’s arbitrary detention and her release so far.

Mahrami used to regularly participate in women’s protests in Kabul, demanding the restoration of Afghan women’s rights and freedom. With the resumption of universities and educational institutions for male students, Maharmi was one of the few female students who participated in a symbolic protest and led a book behind the closed gate of Kabul University.

The United Nations and the international community has described the ban on Afghan women’s education as gender apartheid, which would adversely affect half of the country’s total population.

Meanwhile, the de facto authorities of Afghanistan are allegedly accused of arbitrary detentions, harassment, and mistreatment of rights activists, women activists, and journalists since the group’s return to power.

According to local sources reports, Taliban have arrested a social and media activist in Takhar province.

Subhanullah Subhani was arrested 20 days ago by the Taliban intelligence services, sources reported on Wednesday.

Subhani is being tortured by Taliban reportedly and is in bad condition.

He has been arrested because of his critical posts on social media groups, sources added.

He was a teacher at Abu-Osman Taliqani School for years and recently obtained his doctorate degree in International Relations department from Khorazmi University in Iran.

He went to Takhar to visit his family a month ago.

Recently, there has been an increase in the arrest of social and media activists by the Taliban.

An Afghan women’s rights activist has been detained in Kabul without any information on her whereabouts from Taliban authorities, as another woman was detained and beaten in northern Takhar province for calling for women’s rights.

Nargis Sadat was arrested while travelling in Pul-e-Surkh area of west Kabul on Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Sadat’s relatives told Rukhshana Media that she was not in good health and she had gone to the hospital for treatment. While on her way from the hospital to her sister’s house, she was detained at a checkpoint by Taliban forces in Kabul city’s district three.

The Taliban took Mrs. Sadat’s phone and went through it, then detained her on the grounds that it contained videos and photos of women protesting. Her family have not been allowed any information of her whereabouts.

“After her husband heard the news of her arrest, he went to the local police district. Narges’ phone was in the hands of the police chief there and he told Narges’ husband that she was a leader of the women’s protests so the police called the intelligence department to come and investigate her,” a source close to the family said.

Her husband was not even allowed to see her and make sure of her health condition, a family member told Rukhshana Media, adding that the Sadat’s have a 10-year-old son who was not coping well mentally.

Narges Sadat, is a leading member of the Afghan Powerful Women Movement.

A young woman, Parisa Mubariz, and her brother were detained and beaten by Taliban forces in Takhar province.

Taliban forces went to the Mubariz family home in Taleqan city around 8:00am on Sunday as the family were having breakfast, a source close to the family said.

“Her brother went to see who it was. As soon as he opened the gate, they first arrested him. Then two Taliban policewomen entered the house without permission and took Parisa away with them. They did not even give her a chance to wear her hijab,” the source said.

Parisa’s mother ran to get her daughter a hijab and begged the Taliban forces not to take her children. One of the male Talibs entered the house and took Parisa’s phone, the source said.

“The Taliban just came and took Parisa and her 19-year-old brother with them without explaining the reason,” the source added.

The pair were released about seven hours later through the mediation of their elders and relatives.

The source said that after the arrest, their mother fainted and she was transferred to Mellat Hospital in the center of Taleqan city. She has since returned home. Parisa’s father, 68, works in Iran to provide an income for his family.

A family member said Parisa has been severely beaten for refusing to provide the password to unlock her phone and allow the Taliban to look through it. They added that the Taliban did not have any document indicating Parisa had participated in protests.

In a picture seen by Rukhshana Media of Parisa after her release, her head is covered with a white cloth and a cannula needle is attached to her left hand.

The Taliban made Parisa promise to refrain from any protests against them and any women’s activities that lead to opposition to their regime, according to the source.

One of Parisa’s colleagues also said that the Taliban released Parisa from prison on the condition that she does not carry out protest activities against the Taliban.

In response to the arrests, a number of women have uploaded videos of themselves protesting from home demanding the release of these women and further demanding the restoration of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The Taliban fighters arrested and imprisoned Parisa Mobarez, a female protester in the northern province of Takhar, along with her brother. They were arrested from their home.

Through the intercession of local elders, Mrs. Mobarez and her brother were released after spending 24 hours in the Taliban prison.

Various sources have confirmed to Nimrokh that the Taliban have taken a commitment from Mobarez’s father that his daughter would have to no longer protest against them.

After release, Mobarez told media that she and her brother were severely beaten and tortured in prison by the Taliban men. The Taliban have also seized her cell phone and are pressuring her to let them access its contents.

The Taliban must allow Tamadon TV to operate freely and independently and end its campaign of harassment and violence against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, February 14, about 10 armed Taliban members raided the headquarters of the privately owned broadcaster in Kabul, beat several staff members, and held them for 30 minutes, according to news reports and a journalist familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.

That journalist said they did not know what led to the raid. Tamadon TV is predominantly owned and operated by members of the Hazara ethnic minority, and covers political and current affairs as well as Shiite religious programming. Hazara people have faced persecution and escalated violence since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.

“The Taliban’s raid of Tamadon TV and attacks on its employees show the group’s failure to abide by its professed commitment to freedom of expression in Afghanistan,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Access to information in Afghanistan is critical. The Taliban must stop harassing journalists and stifling the work of the free press.”

While entering the broadcaster’s premises, Taliban members beat a security guard, two journalists, and two media workers, the journalist who spoke to CPJ said.

The Taliban members then pointed guns the station’s staff members, confiscated their mobile phones, and transferred them to a meeting room, where they were held for 30 minutes while Taliban members verbally harassed them, referring to one as an “infidel Hazara journalist,” according to that journalist.

Taliban members roamed around the headquarters, but it was not clear if they conducted any additional searches, and then confiscated two of the broadcaster’s vehicles when they left the scene.

CPJ contacted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid for comment via messaging app but did not receive any response.

In August 2022, CPJ published a special report about the media crisis in Afghanistan, showing a rapid deterioration in press freedom since the Taliban retook control of the country, marked by censorship, arrests, assaults, and restrictions on women journalists.

Afghan professor Ismail Mashal went viral on social media late last year after he ripped up his academic degrees live on TV to protest the Taliban's ban on women attending university.

More recently, the 37-year-old professor handed out hundreds of free books to girls and women across the capital, Kabul.

But on February 2, Mashal’s defiance of the Taliban’s restrictions on female education finally caught up with him. The professor was beaten and arrested by Taliban fighters.

Mashal is the latest victim of the Taliban’s crackdown on dissent. Since seizing power in 2021, the hard-line Islamists have violently dispersed peaceful protesters and detained and beaten journalists and activists.

Mashal is among the scores of Afghan university professors and teachers who resigned after the Taliban banned university education for women on December 20, in a move that triggered a local and international outcry. Mashal also closed the private Mashal University, which had some 400 students, that he had founded.

A young man in Ghor was arrested for posting critical content on Facebook and criticizing the Taliban for the ban on university education for women.

Local sources told Hasht-e Subh on Tuesday, January 3 that Majid Ahmadi, who had criticized the Taliban on his Facebook page for their decision to ban university education for women, was arrested by Taliban forces.

Taliban members arrested the young man four days ago in Firuzkoh, the capital city of Ghor province, according to sources. Sourced reiterated there are no details about his whereabouts and whether he is alive or dead.

Taliban officials in Ghor have not hitherto expressed their opinion on this matter.

The Taliban had kept another young man in custody for almost two months in Ghor province for criticizing the group’s governance and incompetency.

6 women among 8 protesters arrested by Taliban members in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province.

The Taliban have suppressed a march initiated by female students in Taloqan city, sources in Takhar confirmed.

Sources detailed the Taliban arrested two male protesters yesterday and six female protesters today.

Most of the protestors are students of local-based education centers and private universities who had gathered in Yunus Abad and Maarif Alley.

According to sources, the Taliban dispersed the protesters and did not allow local journalists to cover the march.

Meanwhile, female protesters in Herat were also violently dispersed by the Taliban. The Taliban used water cannons to disperse the protesters.

The Taliban violently suppressed a rare women’s demonstration in Herat province.

Several dozens of female protesters took to the streets in Herat on Saturday morning (December 24th) to protest against the Taliban’s regressive order, and their protest was immediately dispersed by the Taliban.

Despite being violently suppressed by the Taliban, protesters in Herat still continue to chant slogans, and the Taliban frequently used water cannons for dispersing crowds and limiting access to certain areas, sources indicated.

Protestors consider the Taliban’s order to ban university education for girls against Islamic principles, calling on the Taliban to “respect the holy book and do not deny women’s rights of access to education.”

The Taliban’s decision to ban university education for women has led to widespread objections at the national and international arenas.

Defying the Taliban’s latest ban on university education for women, dozens of Afghan women's rights activists and girl students Thursday staged a protest in Kabul, Takhar and Nangarhar provinces, demanding that women be allowed access to education and employment.

“Rights for everyone or no one,” the women wearing Islamic hijabs chanted as they marched through the streets in the western part of the capital, Kabul, home to the country’s largest universities.

Eyewitnesses said the protests in Kabul were quickly shut down by Taliban security officials and that at least five women and a couple of male protesters were arrested. Sources connected to women activists confirmed two of those arrested were released.

One of the female protesters, who asked that her name not be used for fear of Taliban retaliation, told VOA, “The Taliban forces beat us up and arrested some of our female and male protesters and took them away. They scattered us apart. However, we will not let it go. We will fight for our rights.”

'They kicked us out'

The Taliban’s armed security guards on Wednesday allowed male students to attend exams but stopped female students from entering their classrooms in different universities.

"We went to the university to give our exam; our male classmates were able to get in the hall, but we were not allowed by the armed Taliban forces. They kicked us out of the university with violence and cruelty, as if we had committed a huge crime. We have four exams left. What is going to be our future?” said one female student from Nangarhar University who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.

“I had studied and prepared for my exam until very late that night. As soon as I woke up and saw the news about the ban, my dreams shattered. I started crying. Why are we treated as criminals? We have no respect and no values for these people,” said Bahar Ahmadzai, a student at Kabul Medical University.

The ban was announced Tuesday, a day before the universities’ final exams.

Following broad condemnation of the move, the Taliban’s higher education minister, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, defended the decision in a post on Twitter.

“The Nation is angry with me because of the closure of girls' education, while this is the order of the Messenger of Allah," the tweet said. "Islam does not allow women to do prostitution in the name of education. A woman is like a piece of land owned by a man, and she is obligated to be at his service, not perusing education.”

In the eastern city of Nangarhar, some male university students also walked out of their exams in protest against the Taliban’s decision to ban female students from higher education.

One male student, who also declined to provide his name, said, “We did not attend the exam and we will not until our female classmates are allowed to take exams, too.”

On Wednesday after female students were not allowed to take part in the exams, several male professors from various universities in multiple provinces resigned in protest.

'Dark day'

Obaidullah Wardak, assistant professor at Kabul University, said, “I and some of my colleagues resigned in protest against this dark day. We will not return to the university unless the decision is revoked by the Taliban.”

Afghan writer and human rights activist Shafiqa Khpalwak called the ban on girls’ education a crime against humanity. She asked the international community and Islamic countries to step forward and help the Afghan women in this fight against extremism.

“This catastrophe does not only concern the rise of women but threatens the whole existence of our country," she said. "The so called 'international community' is also responsible for the crisis and now they cannot look away from us, they cannot walk away from the mess they have created. We need them to come up with practical and pragmatic solutions that will eventually bring results for us.”

“Afghan women are alone in this fight against radicalism. They need help!” she added.

Lida Afghan, a Danish-Afghan artist whose art highlights social problems and women’s rights, said it is time for the world to stand with the Afghan women.

“I was supposed to focus on my exams today and then I got the news that Afghan women are banned from going to the university," Lida said. "I thought: It could have been any of us if our parents hadn’t fled the country. In these tough times the whole world should be standing up for the Afghan women, knowing it could have been one of us.”

The Taliban have so far shut girls’ secondary schools; banned women from public parks, gyms and baths; imposed mandatory hijab “covering faces”; and imposed executions and harsh public punishments such as flogging.

Several countries including the United States and the U.N.'s mission in Afghanistan asked the Taliban leadership to "immediately" revoke the decision.

More than a dozen Afghan women protested briefly in Kabul on November 24, calling for their rights to be recognized on the eve of the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Afghan women have been squeezed out of public life since the Taliban's return to power in August last year, but small groups have staged flash protests that are usually quickly shut down, sometimes violently. Earlier this month the Taliban barred women from entering parks, funfairs, gyms, and public baths.The veiled women carried pickets with slogans decrying the deprivation of their rights under the Taliban. The march organizers said the Taliban had briefly detained three of the demonstrators.

In continuation of suppressing and detaining protesting women, sources report that the Taliban have arrested another protesting girl.

According to sources, on Thursday, November 10, the Taliban arrested Humaira Yousuf, one of the women activists in the field of human rights, who is a resident of Abdullah Khel village, Dara district of Panjshir province.

Sources add that the Taliban arrested her in the 11th district of Kabul city after several months of pursuit.

Humaira’s father is a retired general of the previous government.

According to reports, the Taliban have arrested six protesting women in less than ten days.

Sources report that Parveen Sadat, one of the female activists, has been missing since last night.

Sources claim that on Tuesday, November 15, after Parveen Sadat’s voice was published on social media concerning the Taliban’s soldiers in her residence, there is no news on her whereabouts and fate.

Some women activists argue that the disappearance of this lady is linked to the chain of arrest of women by the Taliban.

In an interview, sources confirmed Thursday that Farhat Popalzai was arrested by the Taliban six days after the arrest of Zarifa Yaqoobi along with her four other colleagues.

According to sources, the Taliban fighters have taken Popalzai with her father to one of the security areas of Kabul and arrested her after checking her cell phone.

The Taliban have not yet provided details on the matter.

Zarifa Yaqoobi, a women’s rights activist, was arrested in Kabul last Thursday, and still, her hideout along with her four colleagues is not yet clear.

The Taliban beat up female protestors at Badakhshan University and suppressed the demonstration.

A number of female students in Badakhshan protested on Sunday morning (October 30th) after they were prevented from entering the university campus by the Taliban.

The Taliban did not allow these students to enter Badakhshan University because they did not wear burqas and wore local clothes.

Sources added that the intelligence of the Taliban has also arrested another group of girls from the Badakhshan University dormitory who were chanting death slogans against the Taliban on the roads in Shahr-e Naw, Faizabad city.

The Taliban have already deployed more forces to prevent students from going to the university classes, according to sources.

This is while the protests of female students in Herat, Balkh, Kabul and Bamiyan were also suppressed by the Taliban and a number of students were arrested and tortured.

A number of women wanted to display their educational documents in Kabul in protest against the ban on women’s right to work.

The program was launched on Monday morning (October 31st) in Shahr-e Naw Park in Kabul.

Videotapes released by a female protester show that Taliban fighters are present in Shahr-e Naw Park, and one of them tears placards with slogans and educational documents of protesting girls and tells the protestors to leave the area.

These girls had gathered in protest against the violation of women’s right to work in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Previously, women’s protests in different provinces have been suppressed by the Taliban.