Taliban rule deepens Afghan rights and humanitarian crisis five years on

Five years after the Taliban's return to power in Kabul, Afghanistan faces severe human rights and humanitarian crises, with women bearing the heaviest impact.

Systematic restrictions have curtailed women's access to employment, free movement, and public life. Recent investigations into more than 200 femicides highlight unchecked gender-based violence, exacerbated by the 2023 dissolution of the attorney general's office, which previously tracked killings.

Meanwhile, nearly 40 percent of the Afghan population urgently requires humanitarian assistance. The United Nations confirmed that an international relief convoy of over 700 trucks carrying essential food and provisions reached Afghanistan via Pakistan despite tight border closures.

In neighbouring Iran, rights advocates reported the execution of a woman who defended herself against sexual abuse, drawing renewed scrutiny to legal systems that impose steep evidentiary requirements on victims of domestic violence.

Sources: Diário de Notícias (DN), Expresso, Expresso das Ilhas, Jornal Económico, RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal)