EU calls for immediate release of detained women in Afghanistan
Oct 03, 2023
Kabul [Afghanistan], October 4 : The European Union (EU) has called for the immediate release of women detained in Afghanistan for defending their and others’ rights and said arbitrary detentions undermine the caretaker government’s domestic legitimacy, Khaama Press reported.
The Khaama Press News Agency is an online news service for Afghanistan.
Taliban authorities continue to crack down on dissenting voices, in particular those who speak out on issues related to the rights of women and girls.
EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali on Tuesday called on the Afghanistan caretaker government to release Julia Parsi and Neda Parwani, along with their family members, as soon as possible and put an end to their arbitrary detentions.
Massrali continues to demand the release of Matiullah Wesa, an education activist who has been detained in the Taliban’s prison for over six months.
European Union’s special representative for Afghanistan, Thomas Nicholson, meanwhile said that arbitrary detentions of those defending their and others’ rights are illegal and undermine the caretaker government’s domestic legitimacy.
Nicholson also called for the release of women’s rights activists detained by the Taliban de facto authorities.
At the same time, Taranum Saeedi, a women’s rights activist, in conversation with Khaama Press News Agency, stated that although women have bravely resisted for their fundamental rights in the past two years, such detentions led to the suppression of protests.
Saeedi said, “Women demand their fundamental rights through civil litigation, but the Taliban, through restrictive orders, arrests, and torture, have obstructed their quest for justice.”
Meanwhile, the intelligence forces of the current regime detained Neda Perwani, a female protester, along with her husband and child, about 15 days ago. These forces also detained Julia Parsi, one of the officials of the Women’s Revolutionary Movement, and another female protester and women’s rights activist with her son from Kabul shortly after detaining Neda Parwani, as per Khaama Press.
