"This move toward accountability honours the voices of Afghan women and girls."
Malala Fund issues statement in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s decision.
The ICC’s decision today to issue arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders is a defining step in the pursuit of justice for Afghan women and girls. For the first time, an international court has recognised that gender persecution under the Taliban constitutes a crime against humanity and that those responsible must face consequences.
The Court finds reasonable grounds to believe that Taliban leaders are responsible for a campaign of persecution targeting Afghan women and girls, including bans on education, employment, freedom of movement and presence in public life. These are not isolated violations. They are systemic. They are deliberate. Arrest warrants are now issued for five senior figures, including Hibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani.
This ruling affirms what Afghan women have said all along: their erasure is not accidental. It is a strategy of control. It strengthens the growing global call to codify gender apartheid as a distinct crime under international law.
“The ICC’s decision is a milestone in recognising the severity of the crimes committed against Afghan women and girls. It reinforces the urgent need to codify gender apartheid — a system designed to erase girls and women from public life — as a crime against humanity. This move toward accountability honours the voices of Afghan women and girls, and affirms the international community’s responsibility to act,” said Sahar Halaimzai, Senior Director of the Afghanistan Initiative, Malala Fund.
