Taking the Taliban to The Hague
Prosecuting Taliban leaders over their brutal repression of women.
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Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
The International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for the Taliban leadership – the first ever on charges of “gender persecution” – mark a clear legal precedent.
Prosecutors last month accused Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of “ordering, inducing or soliciting the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds”.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“This ruling has great value in terms of human rights and documenting the Taliban's systematic misogynistic policies and their hostile campaign for erasing women’s presence from society,” said IWPR consultant Zainab Pirzad, one of the founding members and editor of the Rukhshana media outlet. “The warrant also makes the Taliban a pariah regime in the eyes of the member states of ICC, which is a blow to Taliban’s efforts to gain international recognition and acceptance."
“However, we should not forget the fact that this ruling doesn’t change the attitude of countries that are actually involved in political and economic deals with the Taliban,” she continued. “We cannot expect it to change the dire situation of women in Afghanistan.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Four years after the Taleban seized control of Afghanistan, the ICC move clearly labels their persecution of women a crime against humanity.
Afghanistan already had a high rate of violence against women before the August 2021 Taleban takeover, but the situation has deteriorated dramatically under the re-established regime. The authorities have imposed oppressive policies that curtail freedom of movement, expression and association.
Afghanistan signed up to the Rome Statute in 2003, although the Taliban withdrew from the court earlier this year after the investigation into their leadership was announced. While the two men named in the warrants are unlikely to travel abroad in the near future and expose themselves to a situation where their arrest would be feasible, the move sends a powerful message.
"The ICC arrest warrant has a mostly symbolic value for Afghan women,” continued Pirzad. “But it’s a morale booster for all Afghan women whose voices are being heard, even though they do not see much hope for its implementation.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
IWPR has worked in Afghanistan for more than 20 years, training thousands of journalists – with a strong emphasis on empowering women in the media sphere – as well as establishing journalism faculties and launching Pajhwok, the nation’s first independent news agency.
Most recently, IWPR programming has focused on supporting the brave women journalists inside Afghanistan who, against all odds, continue to report on the Taliban’s brutal campaign of repression.
Factual reporting is critical to documenting human rights abuses and gender violence – and plays a part in the accountability processes that will one day bring justice for the people of Afghanistan.
