UN Report Condemns “Systemic Erasure” of Women from Justice System in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan

KABUL/GENEVA – Afghan women and girls are confronting “systemic and severe barriers” in accessing justice, according to a stark new report from the United Nations Human Rights Council, which details a sweeping reversal of their legal rights and protections under Taliban rule.

The report, released Thursday by Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, covers the period from January to August 2025 and depicts a rapidly deteriorating human rights landscape. It concludes that the Taliban’s deliberate policies have had “devastating consequences,” effectively erasing women from the public sphere and leaving them with no recourse against violence and discrimination.

A Judiciary Purged of Women

A central finding of the report is the catastrophic impact of the Taliban’s decision to remove women from the judiciary. The elimination of female judges, prosecutors, and lawyers has dismantled critical safe pathways for survivors of gender-based violence.

“When a woman survives domestic abuse or sexual violence, she can no longer turn to a female lawyer for confidential counsel or a female judge who might understand her plight,” Bennett stated. “The justice system has been stripped of the very professionals who ensured a semblance of gender-sensitive redress. This isn’t just a barrier; it’s a systemic erasure.”

Informal Mediation Replaces Formal Justice

The report documents that complaints filed by women regarding domestic abuse, forced marriage, sexual violence, or child custody are now routinely dismissed by official channels or redirected to traditional, male-dominated mediation councils known as jirgas or shuras.

These informal mechanisms, Bennett wrote, “further entrench gender inequality” and often prioritize family or tribal reconciliation over individual rights and justice. Women are frequently pressured to withdraw their claims and return to abusive situations, with mediators often siding with male relatives.

“The message is unequivocal: a woman’s quest for justice is a disruption to the social order, not a legitimate right,” the report notes.

Shelters Shuttered, Protections Revoked

Compounding the crisis is the closure of all state-sponsored and most privately-run women’s shelters. These shelters provided not only safety for women fleeing violence but also essential support services. Their dissolution has left countless women and girls with the impossible choice between staying in dangerous homes or facing destitution and social ostracism.

“The closure of shelters is a death sentence for some women,” said a representative from a now-clandestine Afghan women’s rights group, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “There is literally nowhere for them to go.”

Abuse in Detention and a Climate of Fear

The report also contains alarming allegations of mistreatment and sexual violence against women and girls in detention. It describes prison conditions as “deeply degrading and unfit for human dignity,” and highlights the absence of due process, with arbitrary detentions being common for women accused of so-called “moral crimes” like fleeing a husband or appearing in public without a male guardian.

This, Bennett said, has cultivated a pervasive “climate of fear” where women are deterred from reporting any form of abuse, knowing they are more likely to be punished than protected.

International Community Urged to Act

Bennett warned that the convergence of collapsing legal institutions, a sharp decline in international aid, and the eradication of female-focused support services has inflicted profound physical and psychological trauma on Afghan women while paralyzing the work of female human rights defenders.

Human rights organizations have echoed these findings, stating that the systemic exclusion of women from justice represents one of the most profound and rapid rollbacks of fundamental rights witnessed in recent decades.

“We are witnessing the institutionalization of gender apartheid,” said Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch. “The international community must move beyond statements of concern. They must use all available diplomatic and financial leverage to press for the restoration of women’s right to legal representation, the re-opening of protection mechanisms, and the full inclusion of women in public life.”

The report concludes by calling for the Taliban de facto authorities to be held accountable for their violations and urges the UN and member states to make the restoration of women’s rights a non-negotiable condition for any form of normalization or recognition.

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