In a disturbing development, The Guardian has obtained video evidence showing the gang rape and torture of a female Afghan human rights activist in a Taliban-run prison. This revelation comes amid mounting reports of sexual violence against women and girls detained in Afghanistan.
The activist, who has since fled the country, claims the footage was later sent to her as a threat to silence her criticism of the Taliban regime. According to her account, shared with The Guardian and Rukhshana Media, she was arrested for participating in a public protest against the Taliban.
In the video, the woman is reportedly forced to undress and is then raped multiple times by two armed men. One of the assailants is heard saying, "You've been f*cked by Americans all these years and now it's our turn." The activist believes the attack was deliberately recorded to shame and silence her, and was threatened, "If you continue saying anything bad against the Islamic Emirate, we will publish your video."
This video evidence emerges as part of a broader pattern of alleged abuses. Last week, The Guardian published accounts of teenage girls and young women who reported being sexually assaulted and beaten after being detained under Afghanistan's strict hijab laws. In one particularly harrowing case, a woman's body was allegedly found in a canal weeks after her detention, with sources indicating she had been sexually abused before her death.
The United Nations special rapporteur on Afghanistan has recently reported suspicions of women facing sexual violence in detention. Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed what human rights groups are calling a "gender apartheid" on Afghanistan's 14 million women and girls, severely restricting their rights and freedoms.
Zarifa Yaqubi, 30, told The Guardian she was imprisoned for 41 days in November 2022 after attempting to organize a women's movement. "They gave electric shocks and hit parts of my body with cables so that I would not be able to show in front of the camera tomorrow," she said, adding that she was tortured into admitting to taking money from foreigners to protest against the Taliban.
Another activist, Parwana Nejarabi, 23, reported being beaten and given electric shocks after being detained for protesting for women's rights in early 2022. She claimed to have spent a month in solitary confinement and was shown a letter ordering her to be stoned to death.
Despite the risks, women inside Afghanistan continue to stage public protests and criticize the Taliban regime. Rukhshana Media has recorded at least 221 acts of protest by women and girls over the past two years.
Taliban spokesperson Zabhullah Mujahid denied the allegations of widespread sexual assaults on women in prison. Heather Barr, associate director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, commented on the situation: "The Taliban are aware of how much stigma is involved around the issue of sexual violence in Afghanistan and how incredibly difficult – and usually impossible – it is for victims of sexual violence to come forward and tell their stories, even sometimes to their own families, because there is a risk of shame and potentially 'honor' violence."
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed alarm at the reports: "I am alarmed by reports of torture and ill-treatment in Afghanistan, including allegations of sexual violence in detention, especially of women. We are continuing to look into these reports and to establish the facts."
The revelations come as Taliban officials participated in a special UN meeting on Afghanistan in Doha to discuss the country's future. Notably, no Afghan women were present at the meeting, and women's rights were not included on the agenda.
