The British newspaper “Guardian” reports on the case of an Afghan activist who was blackmailed into revealing a video of a gang rape allegedly committed by Taliban prison guards. The video is said to be the first direct evidence of allegations of sexual abuse and rape in Afghan prisons.
An Afghan activist is being blackmailed with a recording of a gang rape she suffered in a Taliban prison, writes the British Guardian. The woman, who managed to leave the country, was sent the recording with a threat that it would be published if she “continues to speak ill of the Islamic emirate,” the daily writes.
According to the British daily, the recording shows multiple rapes of a female prisoner by two armed men.
The Guardian's interviewee said she was arrested for participating in a protest against the Taliban. In her opinion, the recording was made precisely to blackmail her. As the daily writes, the person filming the rape tried to make the woman clearly identifiable.
The recording is the first direct evidence of accusations of sexual abuse and rape in Afghan prisons, the daily stressed, recalling that reports of violence against women and girls held in detention centers in Afghanistanappear more and more often.
Taliban violate women's rights
Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed restrictions on 14 million Afghan women and girls, which organizations have called human rights “gender apartheid”.
They have been excluded from almost all areas of public life. They are prevented from attending secondary school and college, banned from almost any form of paid work, prevented from even using public parks, gyms or beauty salons, and ordered to adhere to a strict dress code. The Taliban have also announced the reinstatement of public flogging and stoning for adultery.
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Heather Barr, a women's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch, said the Taliban can operate “with complete impunity, especially behind prison walls.”
In her opinion, “the Taliban are aware of the deep stigma attached to sexual violence and how difficult, if not impossible, it is for victims to tell their stories openly.”
Taliban spokesman Zabhullah Mujahid denied accusations of widespread sexual attacks on women in prisons.
Two days ago, the event organized by UN two-day meeting with a delegation from the Afghan government, which is seeking international recognition and the lifting of sanctions. There were no Afghan women at the meeting, and women's rights were not included in the program – the Guardian emphasized.
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