Zan Times documents 231 violent deaths of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Journalists working covertly for the Afghan media outlet Zan Times have documented 231 violent deaths of women and girls in 10 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, according to an investigation published by The Guardian. In 53 of the cases, authorities recorded suicide as the official cause despite relatives, witnesses and medical workers reporting evidence of violence. Arrests were made in only 58 cases, and many suspects were released soon afterwards.
Key Facts
- The highest documented case counts were in Jowzjan province (36 deaths), Herat (32), Badakhshan (28) and Ghazni (26).
- Of the 231 victims, 165 were homemakers with no independent income, and victims ranged in age from five to 65.
- Medical records for 33-year-old Liza Shams, who died in hospital on February 1, documented multiple facial fractures and bruising, yet her official cause of death was recorded as poisoning by rat poison.
- In Kandahar, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her husband after fleeing to her family, and her younger brother was shot dead a week later; the husband, identified as a Taliban member, was not arrested.
- In Sar-e Pul province, a local Taliban official allegedly shot dead 16-year-old Sara and her mother after a dispute over the girl’s forced engagement.
Documented Deaths
Journalists working covertly for the Afghan media outlet Zan Times documented 231 violent deaths of women and girls in 10 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. In 53 of those cases, authorities recorded suicide as the official cause of death despite relatives, witnesses and medical workers reporting evidence of violence. Of the 231 victims, 165 were homemakers with no independent income and limited access to protection from domestic violence, and their ages ranged from five to 65. The highest numbers of documented cases were recorded in Jowzjan province with 36 deaths, followed by Herat with 32, Badakhshan with 28 and Ghazni with 26.
Case Profiles
One documented case involved 33-year-old Liza Shams, who recorded voice messages describing repeated abuse by her husband before she died in hospital on February 1. Medical records cited in the investigation documented multiple facial fractures, wounds, bruising and swelling, yet the official cause of death was recorded as poisoning by rat poison. In another case, 33-year-old Freshta Imadi, a UN agency worker in Kabul, was found dead at her home on May 31 after her husband told Taliban police she had died by suicide. Five people who knew Imadi told investigators she had endured years of beatings, strangulation and controlling behavior after being married at the age of 17.
Arrests and Impunity
Suspects were arrested in only 58 cases — roughly one in four — and many were released soon afterward, in some instances as early as the following day. In Kandahar, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her husband after fleeing to her family, and her younger brother, who tried to defend her, was shot and died a week later. Although a case was opened, the husband, identified as a Taliban member, was not arrested, according to the investigation. In Sar-e Pul province, a local Taliban official allegedly shot dead 16-year-old Sara and her mother following a dispute over the girl’s forced engagement.
1 source
Zan Times documents 231 violent deaths of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule
