The Illusion Of Freedom: Examining Human Rights In Afghanistan

Basic freedoms in Afghanistan have been severely restricted since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021. The Taliban has closed the country's political space, violently suppressed demonstrations, and restricted the rights of women, girls, and minority groups. Women have been banned from most public spaces and employment, and Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world to ban education for women over the age of eleven. The Taliban has also restricted artistic and media activity, with more than half of registered media outlets closing between August 2021 and August 2023. In addition, the Taliban continues to commit human rights abuses, including physical violence, raids, arbitrary arrests, and detention.

Freedom of expression

Afghanistan's constitution provides for a unitary state, headed by an elected president, with significant checks from the parliament and a wide range of rights guaranteed to citizens. However, the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021 has severely restricted these freedoms.

The Taliban have closed the country's political space, violently suppressing demonstrations and restricting private discussions perceived as critical of their rule. They have also limited educational opportunities for female students and targeted supporters of the former government.

Under the previous government, Afghanistan had a vibrant media sector, with multiple outlets in print, radio, and television that collectively carried a wide range of views and were generally uncensored. However, journalists faced threats and attacks by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, the Taliban, and government-related figures attempting to influence their coverage.

Since the Taliban took power, media freedoms have been severely restricted. Journalists have been detained and attacked by the Taliban for covering demonstrations, and dozens have been arbitrarily arrested and harassed for reports critical of the Taliban or for violating their rules. The Taliban have also forcibly closed media outlets, such as the Hamisha Bahar radio and television station, for running mixed-gender classes in journalism.

The Taliban have also restricted artistic and media activity, banning live music in some public places and broadcasts of programs featuring female actors. They have ordered female news presenters to wear "Islamic hijab," a term that has not been specifically defined.

Despite these restrictions, brave Afghan journalists continue to put themselves at risk to report the news and hold the powerful accountable. They face threats, assaults, and killings by Afghan officials, warlords, and insurgents. According to the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), the Afghan government accounted for 46% of the attacks on Afghan journalists in 2017, while insurgents were responsible for the rest.

The right to freedom of speech and print is advocated by the Afghan government and preserved in the constitution. Article 34 of the Afghan Constitution states, "Freedom of expression shall be inviolable. Every Afghan shall have the right to express thoughts through speech, writing, illustrations, as well as other means in accordance with the provisions of this constitution." It adds, "Every Afghan shall have the right, according to the provisions of law, to print and publish on subjects without prior submission to state authorities."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which Afghanistan's constitution recognizes, further supports freedom of expression. Article 19 of the UDHR states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

While the previous government respected human rights and freedom of expression to some extent, the current Taliban regime has severely restricted these freedoms, particularly for women and minority groups.

Freedom of religion

Afghanistan's constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and stipulates that followers of other religions may exercise their faith within the limits of the law. However, the country's ongoing political instability and civil war have negatively impacted religious freedom conditions. Extremist groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) threaten Afghanistan's overall stability and endanger religious minorities, particularly Shi'a Muslims.

The Taliban's harsh enforcement of their hardline interpretation of Islam has led to a rapid decline in the country's already small Hindu and Sikh communities and forced Christians to worship in hiding. The Taliban have also targeted and killed individuals because of their beliefs or their links to the government, and religious leaders have received death threats for preaching messages that contradict the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islam.

The Afghan government has made efforts to enhance religious tolerance and protect religious minorities. However, the lack of security remains the primary challenge to protecting religious freedom in the country. Religious minorities in Afghanistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims, continue to face discrimination, persecution, and violence, often at the hands of extremist militants and the state itself.

The indigenous Hindu and Sikh communities are on the verge of disappearing due to continuing discrimination and persecution. They face interference in their religious rituals, such as cremation, and illegal appropriation of their property. Christians are forced to remain secretive due to societal and family pressure, and Baha'is have lived in hiding since 2007 when a fatwa was issued against them, declaring their faith blasphemous.

The situation for religious minorities in Afghanistan has drastically deteriorated since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The Taliban's harsh restrictions based on their interpretation of Islam violate the religious freedom of a wide range of Afghans, including religious minorities, those with differing interpretations of Islam, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and those who follow no faith.

Freedom of assembly

Afghanistan's constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, but this right is upheld erratically from region to region. The police sometimes fire live ammunition when attempting to break up demonstrations. Protests are also vulnerable to attacks by the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban.

In 2017, a new law on freedom of assembly was under consideration in Afghanistan. The National Security Council (NSC) decided to replace the current Law on Gatherings, Demonstrations and Strikes (Assembly Law) after a deadly explosion targeted protesters in Kabul in July 2016. A leaked draft of the law led to strong reactions from civil society as it became clear that the new law would seriously restrict the right to organise and participate in demonstrations, public gatherings, strikes and sit-ins.

The draft law gives the police new powers to withhold permission for demonstrations if they are deemed to threaten public order or if there are security concerns. It also bans any sit-in that lasts more than three days and places further restrictions on the time, subject, manner and place of demonstrations. These restrictions may violate the constitution.

The Taliban suppress demonstrations and use violence to disperse them when they do occur. Unapproved protests are banned. Afghan women have continued to stage sporadic protests but risked severe mistreatment for doing so. In 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported incidents where female protesters were tortured by authorities, along with their male relatives. Authorities used water cannons to disperse those protesting the higher-education ban in December 2022.

In 2021, the Taliban violently suppressed demonstrations, restricted private discussion perceived as critical of its rule, limited educational opportunities for female students, and targeted supporters of the former government.

Freedom of movement

Afghanistan's constitution grants Afghans freedom of movement, residence, and travel abroad. However, in practice, these freedoms are severely restricted.

The Taliban imposes few direct restrictions on freedom of movement within the country. However, intrusive checkpoints, designed to ensnare suspected opponents and enforce Taliban codes, can make movement hazardous.

Women's freedom of movement is restricted, with the Ministry of Vice and Virtue (MVV) restricting how far they can travel unaccompanied. Women who do not wear clothing that abides by the ministry's guidance can be prohibited from entering vehicles. Women must be accompanied by a chaperone for long-distance domestic travel and travel abroad. In March 2022, airline officials reported that unaccompanied women were removed from flights.

The civil conflict has restricted movement and compelled Afghans and citizens of other countries to flee their homes or the country altogether. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 700,000 people were newly displaced within Afghanistan during 2021; by the end of the year, 3.4 million were internally displaced by civil conflict. Several countries evacuated residents as the conflict between the republic and Taliban concluded. The United States alone evacuated 122,000 people between late July and the end of August, including US citizens.

Outside of the framework of the organized evacuation program, opportunities for Afghans to seek refuge abroad have been curtailed in recent years, as the European Union (EU) has attempted to reinforce its external border and member states have increased deportations of failed asylum seekers, while Iran and Pakistan have compelled hundreds of thousands of refugees to return home. Despite these pre-existing barriers, people continued to flee the country after the elected government fell; over 300,000 people entered Iran between September and the end of November 2021, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Over 80,000 Afghans applied for asylum within the EU in the first 11 months of the year, many of them doing so after being evacuated from Afghanistan.

Freedom of education

Afghanistan's education system has been devastated by over three decades of sustained conflict. The country has made significant progress in education over the last twenty years, with enrolments increasing from around 1 million students in 2001 to around 10 million in 2018, including 2.5 million girls in primary school. However, the Taliban takeover in August 2021 threatens to undo much of this progress.

The Taliban have banned girls from receiving a secondary education, with 1.1 million girls prevented from attending secondary school. In December 2022, the Taliban extended this ban to universities, denying access to higher education to more than 100,000 young women. This has sparked protests and international condemnation, with the United Nations investigating claims that girls and women are still allowed to study at religious schools.

The right to education is an essential human right, and education is crucial for realizing other human rights such as the rights to work, to an adequate standard of living, to health, and to participate in society and communities. Denying girls and women their right to education effectively denies them most other human rights.

The Taliban's actions have had a severe impact on the lives of Afghan girls and women, with reports of increased child marriage and child labour, as well as children being malnourished and even dying from malnutrition. The lack of access to education for girls and women also has economic consequences, with the World Bank estimating that the Taliban's ban on girls' secondary education cost the Afghan economy over $500 million in just 12 months.

Despite the current restrictions, some organizations, such as UNESCO, continue to work towards ensuring the continuity of learning for all. They provide community-based literacy classes, support for teacher training, and alternative learning solutions, such as educational radio programs.

The situation in Afghanistan regarding freedom of education, especially for girls and women, remains dire, and it is crucial that the international community takes action to support the right to education for all Afghans.

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