Taliban’s Repression in Afghanistan: UN Warns of Gender Apartheid and Civil Society Crackdown

The human rights crisis in Afghanistan has deepened significantly since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The regime has systematically entrenched repression through discriminatory laws, arbitrary detentions, and suppression of civil liberties, severely affecting women, minorities, journalists, and civil society. This analysis, grounded in recent UN reports and expert statements, examines the institutionalized discrimination, shrinking civic space, and broader implications of Taliban rule, incorporating key statements from Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan.

Institutionalized Discrimination and Gender Apartheid

Systematic Oppression of Women and Girls

Since assuming office in May 2022, Richard Bennett has consistently highlighted the Taliban’s escalating gender-based repression. In his February 2025 report to the UN Human Rights Council, Bennett warned that the Taliban’s “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” enacted in August 2024, institutionalizes “an epicentre of an institutionalized system of gender-based discrimination, oppression, and domination which amounts to crimes against humanity, including the crime of gender persecution”.

This law enforces severe restrictions on women’s rights, including a near-total ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, mandatory Taliban-style hijab, and a requirement that women be accompanied by a male guardian (mahram) in public. Bennett emphasized that these measures “effectively ban women from public life altogether,” confining them to the private sphere and stripping them of autonomy. Women are also prohibited from singing, reciting poetry, or even having their voices heard in public, reflecting a systematic effort to erase women from Afghanistan’s social and cultural life.

Bennett further warned that the law’s enforcement by the Taliban’s ‘moral police’ (muhtasibs) leads to widespread fear, arbitrary arrests, physical punishments, and public humiliation, particularly targeting women. He stated on social media:

 “The Taliban’s use of corporal punishment and public floggings amount to torture and other ill-treatment, violating international law and human dignity”

Today marks 3 years as #UN Special Rapporteur on #Afghanistan. To all Afghans standing up for your rights amid repression—I stand with you. The world must not look away as the #HumanRights crisis deepens. Watch the full message 👇 pic.twitter.com/3xMFNd2nD3

— UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett (@SR_Afghanistan) May 1, 2025

The Special Rapporteur also noted the long-term consequences of excluding women from education and employment, predicting severe economic stagnation and humanitarian suffering. The ban on women’s medical education threatens to create a critical shortage of female healthcare workers, exacerbating health crises.

Impact on Ethnic and Religious Minorities

The Taliban’s repression extends beyond gender to ethnic and religious minorities, especially the Shia-Hazara community. Bennett’s reports document increasing discrimination, targeted attacks by groups like Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP), and the Taliban’s failure to protect vulnerable minorities. The regime marginalizes minorities in government appointments, education, and access to services, deepening social divisions and insecurity.

Bennett has condemned these abuses as part of the Taliban’s broader strategy of domination and persecution, warning that such policies contribute to institutionalized oppression amounting to crimes against humanity.

Shrinking Civic Space and Repression of Dissent

Suppression of Media and Civil Society

The Taliban’s crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly is severe and systematic. Journalists, human rights defenders, academics, and activists face arbitrary detention, torture, and censorship. Bennett highlighted that “media outlets have been shut down, and women’s voices are being erased from public discourse,” with many Afghan-run media organizations forced into exile.

On May 5, 2025, Bennett tweeted a statement for World Press Freedom Day emphasizing the dire situation for journalists in Afghanistan and the importance of press freedom for human rights. He stressed that the Taliban’s surveillance and intimidation tactics have created a climate of fear, leading to widespread self-censorship.

Civil society organizations, especially those led by women, face severe restrictions, with many limited to humanitarian work under tight Taliban control. Bennett’s reports document how the Taliban’s “moral police” enforce conformity and suppress any form of dissent, often through violent means.

Arbitrary Arrests, Enforced Disappearances, and Torture

Bennett’s team has documented widespread arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture, particularly targeting former government employees, security personnel, women’s rights activists, and ethnic minorities. He described detention conditions as “rigid and unaccountable,” with reports of beatings, electric shocks, waterboarding, sexual violence, and overcrowding in prisons. Female detainees suffer especially severe abuses, including sexual harassment.

In a side event at the 58th Human Rights Council session, Bennett emphasized that these abuses constitute crimes demanding accountability and called for psychosocial, medical, and legal support for survivors. He warned that without accountability, the Taliban’s use of fear and repression will continue unchecked.

The Humanitarian Crisis and Economic Collapse

Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation is dire, with over 23 million people requiring assistance. Bennett has repeatedly underscored how Taliban policies, combined with international aid restrictions and climate change impacts, have precipitated a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.

He noted that the ban on women’s education and employment not only violates rights but also undermines economic recovery, increasing poverty and food insecurity. The collapse of health services, especially for women and children, is a direct consequence of these policies.

Bennett praised the resilience of the Afghan people but warned that “cuts in aid will primarily harm ordinary Afghans who already feel abandoned”. He called for increased humanitarian funding with a focus on gender-sensitive programs to mitigate the crisis.

International Response and Accountability

Calls for Principled Engagement and Accountability

Bennett has consistently urged the international community to adopt a principled, rights-based approach to Afghanistan. He warned that “normalization of engagement with the Taliban risks legitimizing their oppressive regime” unless accompanied by measurable human rights improvements and accountability.

He praised the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) efforts to issue arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders on charges of gender persecution, calling it a “crucial step in holding perpetrators accountable”. Bennett emphasized that accountability mechanisms are essential to prevent impunity and support victims.

In March 2025, a coalition of countries led by Iceland called on the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism with a broad mandate to complement Bennett’s work and advance accountability for ongoing abuses.

Challenges and Risks of Neglect

Bennett warned that neglecting Afghanistan’s crisis risks emboldening the Taliban and similar regimes. He stressed that “without sustained international pressure, support for civil society, and accountability, the rights of millions of Afghans, particularly women and minorities, will continue to erode”.

He urged the global community to support Afghan women’s meaningful participation in decision-making and to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, reinforcing the need for coordinated international action.

The broader human rights crisis in Afghanistan is a complex and deeply entrenched system of repression. The Taliban’s institutionalized discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and civil society actors has created a climate of fear, exclusion, and violence. The codification of these policies in the “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” consolidates a regime of gender apartheid and repression that violates international law and human dignity.

Richard Bennett’s reports and statements provide authoritative documentation and analysis of these abuses, underscoring the urgent need for international accountability, principled engagement, and humanitarian support. Without decisive global action, the situation is likely to deteriorate further, with devastating consequences for the Afghan people and regional stability.