KABUL, Afghanistan — The self-immolation of a young woman named Abida in Ghor province has drawn sharp condemnation from the Afghanistan Human Rights Defenders Committee, which says the incident highlights the Taliban’s entrenched system of gender-based violence and coercion.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, April 29, the group said Abida, who lived in Darzab-e Nili village in Taiwara district, was reportedly forced into marriage with a Taliban member. Unable to escape the pressure and trauma, she set herself on fire.
“This heartbreaking act is not an isolated incident,” the committee said. “It is a glaring reminder of the structural violence and gender-based oppression that women and girls in Afghanistan endure every day.”
The statement outlined how deeply rooted patriarchal, tribal and traditional norms — now reinforced under Taliban rule — have stripped women of their basic rights and protections. “Women are being pushed back into the shadows of subjugation,” the committee added.
Abida’s case also reflects what rights defenders describe as the growing abuse of power by Taliban commanders, especially in rural areas, where local fighters forcibly marry women with impunity. “Women are treated as property, not as human beings,” the group said.
The statement also warned that millions of Afghan women now live in fear, deprived of education, justice, or access to mental health services. The climate of impunity and silence, it said, has allowed violence like Abida’s case to persist and worsen.
The rights group urged Afghan civil society to report gender-based violence, build community support systems, and leverage Islamic teachings to oppose forced marriage. It also called on the international community to take a stronger stance against what it termed “gender apartheid” under Taliban rule.
Recommendations include direct support for Afghan-led women’s protection programs, increased documentation of abuses, and the conditioning of all humanitarian aid on guarantees for women’s rights and access to justice.
The committee also called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Taliban members responsible for systematic gender-based crimes.
“Abida’s death must not go unnoticed,” the committee wrote. “Her pain must not be in vain. We owe it to her and thousands of others to act, to raise our voices, and to never stop fighting for the dignity, safety, and rights of every woman and girl in Afghanistan.”.
