Rome, 31 August 2022

The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome, strongly condemns the continued widespread women and girls’ rights violation by the Taliban across Afghanistan, especially their members’ forced marriages with women and girls since the illegitimate takeover of Afghanistan.

In a video that went viral on social media yesterday, Elaha Dilawarzai, a student at Kabul Medical University and daughter of a former National Defense and Security Forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, claims that Qari Saeed Khosti, former spokesperson of the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior has tortured, raped, and forcefully married her. Earlier this year, a report by Amnesty International had also revealed that “members of the Taliban [group] have used their positions of influence and power to force girls and women to marry them”.

These barbaric acts follow the spate of other measures on women and girls by the illegitimate administration of Taliban in Kabul, which prohibits them from secondary and tertiary education, barre them from returning to their jobs, prevent them from boarding aircraft without a male guardian, and ordering them to cover their faces while on air.

The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome once again condemns in the strongest possible terms these atrocities and asks for putting an end to the current endemic of fearmongering in the country. This Embassy also calls on the Government of Italy, the international community, and the United Nations to stand in solidarity with Afghan women and girls, and to stress their support for their aspirations for a peaceful, democratic, and pluralistic society based on the promotion of universal respect and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.