Human rights situation was a key issue in Afghanistan in 2022.

During this year, Islamic Emirate Supreme Leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada issued at least seven decrees about women, something that triggered widespread reactions within and outside Afghanistan.

Based on the decrees, women were banned from attending schools, parks, sports, universities and jobs in non-governmental organizations.

The decrees that restricted the rights of women faced protests across the country and beyond. The protests turned violent as the Islamic Emirate’s forces tried to prevent them.

The issue of human rights in Afghanistan has been discussed at regional and international levels.

In January, in the second day of the Oslo meeting, Afghan women’s rights activists submitted a paper that included Afghan women’s demands to the Islamic Emirate’s delegation and representatives of countries that attended the meeting.

Many international conferences including the UN summits urged the Islamic Emirate to observe human rights.

“Today’s women are not the women of 20 years ago. The protests of the past days are against the closure of universities and for defending women’s rights,” said Sodaba Nazhand, a human rights activist.

But the Islamic Emirate said that it is committed to the rights of everyone under the Islamic structure.

“After the Islamic Emirate came to power, all chaos regarding human rights was eliminated,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

The UN Human Rights Council in March 2022 appointed Richard Bennett as special rapporteur for Afghanistan’s human rights.

“We want to speak to the Taliban ourselves, we know what our people need ---I call on the de facto authorities to honor their commitments to women’s rights to urgently create a meaningful dialogue with Afghan women and to listen to their voices. Excellencies, during my visit I recognized the significance of the general amnesty granted to the former officials,” said Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The World Economy Forum has ranked Afghanistan the worst country for women among 146 countries.

“As we mark Human Rights Day, we recall that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, the United Nations in Afghanistan is urging the de facto authorities to stop restricting the basic rights of Afghans, especially those of women and girls, because those who govern have an immense responsibility as duty-bearers to every woman, man, girl and boy. This year we also mark the countdown to the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Afghanistan on Dec 10th.

Most recently, three separate decrees were issued that banned women from working in NGOs and attending universities.

The third decree was issued by the Ministry of Hajj and Pilgrims which is banning young women from entering the mosque.

The decisions have triggered widespread reactions from around the world.

Many female students held protests in several parts of the country to criticize the Islamic Emirate’s decision regarding the closure of universities for them.