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TALIBAN oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan may amount to a crime against humanity, a United Nations probe said today.
A team appointed by the UN human rights council issued a statement after the Taliban confirmed that three women were among 12 people publicly flogged on Wednesday before a crowd of hundreds at a sports stadium.
On November 11 at Taloqan in north-east Afghanistan, 10 men and nine women were each given 39 lashes “in the presence of elders, scholars and residents” at the city’s main mosque following Friday prayers. They were accused of adultery, theft and running away from home.
Public floggings were a hallmark of Taliban rule in the 1990s. The Islamists have also banned girls from secondary schools, excluded women from many jobs and ordered compulsory wearing of the burka in public; women have also been banned from parks, gyms, and funfairs.
The UN panel said the suite of measures might constitute “gender persecution,” which is defined as a crime against humanity that could be prosecuted under international law.
The Taliban rejected the charge.
