'Targeted women': ICC issues arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders; Taliban calls it 'nonsense'

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday (local time) issued arrest warrants against two top Taliban leaders, accusing them of persecuting girls and women in Afghanistan, CNN reported.

In a statement, ICC clarified that the two men, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani are accused of encouraging the abuse of women, girls and others who don’t adhere with the Taliban’s policy on gender.


In response, the Taliban called the arrest warrants “nonsense” and said they don’t recognize the ICC. They also accused the court of showing hatred toward Islam by calling their interpretation of Islamic law a crime.

Back in January, the ICC’s chief prosecutor said the duo has been criminally responsible for carrying out gender-based persecution since at least August 15, 2021, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh restrictions on women and girls. Girls are banned from attending school beyond sixth grade. Women must cover their entire bodies and faces in public and are not allowed to speak to or look at men outside their families. The sound of women’s voices in public has also been restricted.

The ICC said the Taliban have especially targeted women and girls because of their gender, taking away their basic rights and freedom.

“While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the ICC said on Tuesday.

“Specifically, the Taliban severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion,” it continued.

The regime has also targeted people who support women’s rights and LGBTQ people whose identities don’t fit the Taliban’s rules on gender.

The arrest warrants were issued one day after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution expressing deep concern about the worsening oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan. The UN called on the Taliban to quickly reverse these policies.

Lisa Davis, ICC’s Special Adviser on Gender and Other Discriminatory Crimes, said this is the first time an international court has recognized LGBTQ people as victims of crimes against humanity for gender persecution, according to media reports.

Human rights groups have welcomed the ICC move. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard called it an important step toward holding those responsible accountable.

Liz Evenson, the international justice director of Human Rights Watch said the arrest warrants could provide victims and their families with an essential pathway to justice.