The US State Department, in its annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices, says Afghanistan under Taliban rule saw “widespread disregard for the rule of law and official impunity” for those responsible for abuses, as well as a “significant deterioration” in women’s rights due to restrictive edicts.
The department says the Taliban have further restricted women’s access to education, employment and freedom of movement, “effectively removing them from public spaces.”
On Aug. 21, 2024, the Taliban published a so-called morality law that codified earlier decrees, placing “severe restrictions on the personal lives of all Afghans, especially women and girls.” The report says these measures were imposed under the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam, “severely infringing on freedom of religion or belief” and effectively outlawing other interpretations and the practice of other religions.
While the Taliban have not formally changed laws enacted before their takeover in August 2021, the State Department says they have issued “laws” and edicts that contradict existing legislation and violate Afghanistan’s international obligations.
Extrajudicial killings and targeted violence
The report cites “credible reports” from the UN and rights groups that Taliban and ISIS-K members committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, often in retaliation against individuals linked to the former government. ISIS-K also “disproportionately targeted” ethnic Hazaras, who are predominantly Shia Muslims.
According to the report, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett reported that killings have taken place “in private homes, in public spaces and in detention facilities” and have claimed the lives of human rights defenders, legal professionals, judges, students, teachers and police officers — “many of them female.”
Despite repeated public pledges of a “general amnesty” for former officials and security forces, the Taliban “did not generally publicize efforts to hold” their forces accountable, the report says. It also says there were credible accounts of Taliban security personnel killing civilians in provinces such as Panjshir, Kunduz, Kabul and Herat, sometimes as “collective punishment” or in retaliation for past government service.
Severe restrictions on women’s health and freedoms
Women’s access to health care has been sharply curtailed. Male doctors are generally barred from treating women except in life-threatening situations, and female patients must be accompanied by a male guardian. While some female health workers remain in their jobs, the report says many fear working under Taliban restrictions, leaving “an ever-smaller number of qualified women health practitioners” and “steeply increasing the risk of poor health outcomes for women.”
A pre-2021 law still in effect requires a husband’s consent for a woman to use contraception.
Bennett’s June report concluded that the Taliban’s “institutionalized system of oppression” against women and girls “appeared to constitute an attack on the entire civilian population, amounting to crimes against humanity.”
Suppression of free expression and the press
The State Department says the Taliban “did not respect” constitutional rights to free speech or press. Edicts issued since November 2021 have severely limited expression, leading to media closures and widespread censorship.
Journalists have faced detention, beatings, threats and intimidation. The Afghanistan Journalists’ Center recorded 181 incidents of press freedom violations from August 2023 to August 2024, including 48 arrests of journalists and media workers. New rules introduced in September require political programs to be prerecorded and prohibit media from challenging or criticizing Taliban officials, policies or regulations.
The Taliban also selectively restricted internet access, imposed blackouts in areas of dissent, and closely monitored communications.
Child recruitment and child marriage
The UN documented the Taliban’s recruitment of at least 342 boys in 2023 for combat and support roles, despite a 2022 decree banning the practice. Reports from Badakhshan province in mid-2024 described the recruitment and military training of boys as young as 10, the report says.
Child, early and forced marriage remains widespread. UNICEF estimates nearly 39% of women aged 15–49 were married before 18. The report says girls barred from education face greater risk of forced marriage, with some cases involving Taliban members themselves.
Torture, corporal punishment and impunity
The report documents numerous cases of torture, beatings and executions by Taliban forces. Between April and June 2024, UNAMA recorded at least 179 court-ordered corporal punishments, including public floggings of men and women for adultery, robbery and other alleged offenses. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said stoning is “part of sharia” and would be implemented if conditions arose.
The report says “impunity was a significant problem” among Taliban police and soldiers, and that no independent investigations of abuses are permitted.
No recognition, worsening humanitarian crisis
The Taliban administration has not been formally recognized by any country except Russia. The report notes that Afghanistan’s economic crisis, unemployment and hunger have deepened, with more than half the population in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024.
The State Department concludes that Taliban governance remains “inconsistent with the country’s obligations and commitments under international law,” while imposing an “institutionalized system” of repression that has left much of the population — particularly women and girls — excluded from public life.
