The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.
The ICC said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban, have committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women, and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.
"These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, and have continued until at least 20 January 2025," the ICC released in a statement.
The ICC said that while the Taliban has imposed rules and restrictions on the Afghanistan population as a whole, "they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms."
They noted specifically that girls and women have been deprived of their rights to things such as education, freedom of movement, expression, and religion.
Afghan women’s rights groups issued letter to ICC
In May, dozens of Afghan women’s rights groups and civil society organizations issued a letter urging the ICC to start proceedings against American political scientist Cheryl Benard, whom they accused of misrepresenting Taliban crimes and ongoing gender persecution.
Benard published an article claiming that reports of women’s oppression in Afghanistan are exaggerated.
She further claimed in an interview with The Media Line that “Afghanistan is safe for refugees to return," describing a recent visit where she saw women working and appearing in public without male guardians.
The Media Line contributed to this report.