AMN/ WEB DESK
Four women activists in Afghanistan have been released by the country’s “de facto authorities” after going missing weeks ago, the United Nations said Sunday.
Since back to power in August, the Taliban have cracked down on dissent by forcefully dispersing women’s rallies, detaining critics, and often beating local journalists covering unsanctioned protests.
Tamana Zaryabi Paryani, Parwana Ibrahimkhel, Zahra Mohammadi, and Mursal Ayar went missing after participating in an anti-Taliban rally, but Afghanistan’s hardline Islamist rulers, whose government is still not recognized by any country had consistently denied detaining them.
After a long period of uncertainty about their whereabouts and safety, the four disappeared Afghan women activists, as well as their relatives who also went missing, have all been released by the de facto authorities, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Twitter.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had told a media agency in an interview recently that the authorities had the right to arrest and detain dissidents or those who break the law after the government banned unsanctioned protests soon after coming to power.
The Taliban have promised a softer version of the harsh rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. But provincial authorities have imposed several restrictions on women and have issued regular guidelines on how they should live.
The new authorities have effectively barred women from working in several government sectors and most girls’ secondary schools remain shut. The Taliban have also issued an order that women cannot travel between cities and towns unless accompanied by a close male relative.
Earlier this month the Taliban detained two foreign journalists working for the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR.
The Taliban are however under pressure from the international community to respect human rights as the group engages in talks with Western countries and global donors to secure aid for tackling Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
UNAMA calls for the rights of every Afghan to be respected, the UN mission said on Sunday.