The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced on Thursday that he is pursuing arrest warrants for high-ranking Taliban leaders in Afghanistan due to the persecution of women, which constitutes a crime against humanity. Karim Khan stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, are criminally responsible for gender-based persecution. He emphasized that Afghan women and girls, along with the LGBTQ community, are experiencing “unprecedented, unconscionable, and ongoing persecution” at the hands of the Taliban. Khan remarked, “Our action indicates that the current situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is unacceptable.”
The ICC judges will review Khan’s request before deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant, a process that may take weeks or even months. The court, located in The Hague, was established to address the world’s most serious crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Lacking its own police force, the ICC depends on its 125 member states to execute its arrest warrants, with varying degrees of success. This means that individuals subject to an ICC arrest warrant may avoid traveling to member states for fear of detention.
Khan indicated that he would soon file additional applications for other Taliban officials and highlighted that other crimes against humanity are also being perpetrated. He noted that any perceived resistance to the Taliban is met with brutal repression, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts.
Human Rights Watch stated that the prosecutor’s actions should bring the Taliban’s exclusion of women and girls from public life back into focus for the international community. Liz Evenson, the organization’s international justice director, remarked, “Three years after the Taliban regained power, their systematic violations of women and girls’ rights have intensified with complete impunity.”
After regaining control in August 2021, the Taliban initially promised a more moderate governance style compared to their previous rule from 1996 to 2001. However, they quickly imposed severe restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as “gender apartheid.” Decrees based on their interpretation of Islamic law, issued by Akhundzada from Kandahar, have effectively marginalized women and girls from public life. The Taliban government prohibited girls from attending secondary school and women from attending university within the first 18 months of their takeover, making Afghanistan the only country globally to enforce such bans. Additionally, restrictions were placed on women working for non-governmental organizations and other jobs, resulting in thousands losing their government positions or being paid to remain at home.