politics
'Her face was beaten in': how Taliban rule ushered in a new era of women being killed
An investigation into 231 femicide cases highlights the dire situation in Afghanistan, where men are empowered to murder and face no punishment while their crimes are covered up by the state
TL;DR
- An investigation identified 231 cases of women killed in Afghanistan since August 2021, with many attributed to domestic violence by male relatives.
- A significant number of these deaths are officially declared suicides, even when evidence suggests foul play, preventing accountability.
- The Taliban has dismantled institutions designed to protect women, including the Ministry of Women's Affairs and a shelter network.
- The legal code under Taliban rule offers minimal punishment for perpetrators of domestic violence and harsher penalties for women seeking refuge.
- Families attempting to intervene on behalf of abused women have faced deadly consequences.
- The Zan times investigation highlights a lack of official data collection on femicide by the Taliban government.