GENEVA — While Afghan women remain the primary victims of Taliban restrictions, men and boys are also increasingly subjected to the group’s repressive policies, forced into strict gender roles and coerced into controlling their female relatives, a United Nations expert warned on Friday.
Speaking at a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Richard Bennett, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, said that Afghan men are being compelled to comply with Taliban dictates and that many face punishment for resisting the regime’s rules on women’s rights.
“They are required to adhere to the Taliban’s binary understanding of gender roles and responsibilities and are increasingly forced into controlling their female relatives,” Bennett said.
He warned that indoctrination through education is entrenching Taliban ideology, raising long-term security risks as young men are shaped by its rigid doctrines.
Despite the risks, some Afghan men have quietly resisted by arranging covert education for their daughters, providing legal assistance to women, and helping female relatives continue working.
Bennett said he frequently receives photos and messages from Afghan men detailing their ill-treatment, including beatings and detentions after standing up for female family members.
“Men in Afghanistan are not just bystanders to oppression. Many are taking risks to challenge it. More should do so, and they too need support,” he said.
Children, Minorities Face Growing Risks
Bennett also raised alarm over worsening conditions for Afghan children, citing the erosion of education and healthcare access, which has left them more vulnerable to child marriage, labor, abuse, and trafficking.
“The redefinition of childhood and the erosion of access to education and healthcare have removed crucial protections for children and young women,” he said.
He also highlighted the ongoing persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, who have long faced discrimination and violence with impunity under Taliban rule.
Taliban Block U.N. Access to Afghanistan
Bennett addressed the Taliban’s refusal to grant him a visa, preventing him from conducting in-person investigations.
“While I would, of course, prefer to access the country and engage directly with stakeholders, the Taliban’s decision has not stopped me from discharging my mandate,” he said.
Despite being barred from entry, he continues to document human rights violations remotely, stressing that “no access does not mean no engagement.”
Funding Shortages Undermine Monitoring Efforts
Bennett also expressed frustration over funding constraints that have hampered U.N. efforts to fully investigate and report on abuses in Afghanistan.
“On paper, the Council has provided me with considerable resources—a team, translation resources, and a travel budget. In practice, I receive less than half of what has been supported by the Council,” he said, revealing that his team of ten staff members is actually just four.
While he pledged to continue his work, he stressed that greater resources would significantly enhance the U.N.’s ability to monitor and report on Afghanistan’s human rights crisis.
Bennett’s remarks come amid mounting global concerns over Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and the Taliban’s tightening grip on power. His report underscores the urgency of continued international scrutiny, warning that Afghanistan’s future remains deeply uncertain under Taliban rule.
