Amnesty: Taliban crackdown on rights is ‘suffocating’ women

By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Amnesty International says the Taliban’s “suffocating” crackdown on the rights of Afghan women and girls is destroying their lives. The London-based watchdog said in a new report that since the Taliban took control of the country nearly a year ago, they have violated women’s and girls’ rights. The Taliban have banned girls from attending school from seventh grade, imposed all-covering dress that leaves only the eyes visible and restricted women’s access to work. The report released Wednesday reveals how women who peacefully protested these oppressive rules have been threatened, arrested, detained, tortured, and forcibly disappeared. The report says rates of early and forced marriage are surging under Taliban rule.