The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced plans to pursue arrest warrants against senior leaders of the Taliban government in Afghanistan for the persecution of women and girls.
Karim Khan stated that there are valid grounds to suspect Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of bearing criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity based on gender discrimination.
The decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant now rests with ICC judges.
The ICC's mandate is to investigate and prosecute individuals accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in cases where national authorities are unable or unwilling to act.
In a released statement, Khan accused the two men of "criminally persecuting Afghan women and girls, as well as individuals who did not conform to the Taliban's strict gender norms, and those deemed allies of women and girls."
He further highlighted that opposition to the Taliban rule has been met with severe repression, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and other brutal acts.
The atrocities have been ongoing from at least August 15, 2021, until the present day across Afghanistan, according to the statement.
Akundzada assumed leadership in 2016 and now heads the self-proclaimed Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, while Haqqani has been involved with the Taliban since the era of Mullah Omar and took part in negotiations with US representatives in 2020.
Challenges hindering the ICC investigation, such as lack of cooperation from the Taliban, have slowed down progress. The prosecutor's office emphasized that fear hinders individuals from sharing crucial information needed for the investigation.
The Taliban government has not responded to the ICC's allegations yet.
Nader Nadery, a senior fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, who was involved in peace discussions between previous Afghan administrations and the Taliban, noted the significance of the ICC's actions for many Afghan women, offering a glimpse of hope for accountability despite not bringing immediate change.
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after being ousted by a US-led invasion following the September 11 attacks in New York. However, their government lacks international recognition to date.
The re-imposition of restrictive "morality laws" has stripped Afghan women of numerous rights, notably excluding them from secondary and higher education, affecting around 1.5 million girls deliberately kept out of school.
Despite promises from the Taliban to allow girls to return to school once certain conditions are met, such as aligning the curriculum with Islamic principles, this has yet to materialize.
Women face strict regulations, including compulsory full-body coverage, prohibition from public spaces like parks, gyms, and baths, and restrictions on travel without a male guardian or making eye contact with unrelated men.