With the publication of a new report by Richard Bennett, the organization’s special human rights rapporteur for Afghanistan, the United Nations has announced that women in the caretaker government’s prisons have been harassed and “sexually assaulted”.
The United Nations has published a report saying that some reliable sources have testified about the harassment and “sexual assault” of women in the prisons of the current government.
The report states: “Reliable information shows that during this repression, some women were raped or sexually harassed.”
This 23-page report was published late last night (Monday, 7th of Scorpio) on the United Nations website, which examined the human rights situation in Afghanistan from January to August 2024.
The report states that Mr. Bennett is deeply concerned by numerous reports of sexual violence against women in prisons. She has documented sexual violence against women who were arrested during the crackdown of the current government in January 2024 for wearing an “inappropriate” or “bad hijab.”
The arrested women said that they were transferred to the police stations and were beaten and verbally insulted, and in some cases, they were sexually assaulted.
However, a number of imprisoned women have told Bennett that although they have not experienced sexual violence in prison, they have been insulted and humiliated by society and their families.
One of these victims said: “During the interrogation, I was beaten, my head was hit against the wall. “One of them [current government forces] tore my clothes and touched my private parts.”
According to Richard Bennett’s findings, the policies of the current government have deprived women of their basic rights.
Also, in a part of this report, the arrest of women on the charge of not complying with the dress code of the caretaker government is mentioned, and it is stated that some of them were transferred to police stations and were insulted and humiliated.
According to the UN special rapporteur, gender violence in Afghanistan has worsened.
He described the current situation in Afghanistan as a clear example of “gender apartheid” and emphasized that the gender repression of the current government can be an example of a crime against humanity.
According to this report, cases of depression, anxiety, isolation and even suicide have increased among women and girls in Afghanistan.
Bennett is expected to present his new report on Afghanistan to the UN General Assembly early next month.
This is despite the fact that there were already reports about the harassment of women in the prisons of the current government, which were denied by the government officials.
