Afghanistan: Taliban Assault on Rights Deepens 5 Years on

By Human Rights Watch

Click to expand Image An Afghan hospital medic inside a home in Afghanistan, February 17, 2026. Before the Taliban banned women from universities, she studied journalism and public relations. © 2026 AFP via Getty Images (New York) – Afghanistan’s Taliban have entrenched one of the world’s worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a timeline of abuses over the last five years. Afghanistan is also facing a severe humanitarian crisis with nearly 40 percent of the population…

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