
Western hypocrisy gives Taliban a free hand to abuse women
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution that expressed 'deep concern' over Afghanistan's dire human rights situation. It urged the Taliban to halt the 'grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression' of women and girls and respect international law.
This was followed by a recent International Criminal Court (ICC) announcement that it was issuing arrest warrants for Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for crimes against humanity against women and girls since the group retook power in August 2021.
The decision by the pretrial chamber of the ICC to pursue Akhundzada and Haqqani was in response to a January request by prosecutor Karim Khan KC, who accused the Taliban of the severe deprivation of physical integrity and autonomy, freedom of movement and expression, education, private and family life and freedom of assembly of Afghan women and girls.
The Taliban's abysmal treatment of women is well documented. The UN says the Taliban has 'deliberately deprived' 14.4 million girls of education. It has also banned women from working in most sectors, including for international aid agencies. This has left a generation of women and girls without agency, and many families without their previous primary breadwinner.
The Taliban has also issued over 70 edicts directly targeting the rights and autonomy of women and girls, including enforcement of veil-wearing and bans on access to public parks and beauty parlors. The Taliban's policies have been referred to as 'gender apartheid' by UN experts and human rights organizations, and female suicide rates in Afghanistan have soared as a result.
The Taliban attempted to sidestep the ICC in February when it announced it was withdrawing from the Rome Statute. The Taliban reiterated that stance this week, saying it did not recognize the 'so-called international court' while accusing the international community and its courts of double standards.
But despite what the Taliban thinks, the court still has jurisdiction in Afghanistan after the former government acceded to the Rome Statute in 2003. This means Akhundzada and Haqqani risk arrest if they leave the country.
It also opens the door for more warrants, including for Sheikh Mohammad Khalid, the head of the notorious Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice responsible for the cruel decrees against Afghan women and girls.
This is a significant blow to the Taliban's quest for international legitimacy. The group thought it had a diplomatic victory earlier this month when it was formally recognized by Russia, but others will now seriously reconsider following suit because of obligations under the Rome Statute and pressure from civil society groups at home.
Taliban hopes of taking Afghanistan's seat at the UN are also now unlikely, having already been denied four times since it returned to power in 2021. But when the Taliban accuses the world of hypocrisy, it has a point.
While the international community has targeted the Taliban for crimes against women, it has failed to hold Israel accountable for crimes against civilians in Gaza, including an estimated 28,000 women and girls killed since October 2023.
The Taliban highlighted these double standards on July 8, saying, 'It is shameful to speak of human rights, justice, and international courts while genocide is being committed in Gaza, where hundreds of innocent women and children are killed daily before the eyes of these very courts.'
Many Western countries have also failed to uphold their obligations under the Rome Statute by failing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was issued an arrest warrant by the ICC last year.
Earlier this month, Netanyahu flew over signatory states Greece, Italy and France on his way to Washington, and none intervened to arrest the Israeli PM or order the plane to avoid their airspace. [The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute].
Others have gone further. In February, the US took the unprecedented step of sanctioning the ICC over its then-investigation of Israeli crimes in Gaza. The UK reportedly threatened to withdraw from the court if warrants were issued against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Australia claimed the ICC was wrongly drawing 'equivalence' between Hamas and Israel, a clear attempt to undermine the investigation and protect Israel from accountability.
The double standards are obvious and add weight to claims that Western countries in particular pick and choose when international law applies, and thus undermine any attempt to hold the Taliban accountable. The group has no incentive to respect a system of law that is applied selectively and will instead stop listening to lectures and double down on its repressive policies on women.
In the immediate term, Akhundzada and Haqqani will simply avoid travel outside of Afghanistan, which they rarely do anyway. Any condemnation from the international community can be batted away by pointing to the horrifying number of Palestinian women and girls killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza, and the level of impunity Netanyahu enjoys in the US and Europe.
Scorned by the international community, the Taliban will instead rely increasingly on China and Russia for diplomatic support and economic deals. The group is also deepening ties with its neighbors Pakistan, India and Iran, and countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. These countries are happy to prioritize Afghanistan's strategic position in Asia over human rights, and none are signatories to the ICC.
Afghan women and girls deserve support, and the Taliban should be held accountable for their crimes. But rank double standards betray the very same people the international community wants and aims to help.

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Waves of Afghan migration to Iran (1979–2025) Year Total Afghan Population (Est.) Main Migration/Return Wave & Cause Returnees/Deportees (thousand) Remaining Population After Return (million) Share of Legal / Irregular Entry (%) 1979 <0.1 Pre-Revolution, Normal Status – <0.1 Mostly legal 1983 1.5 Soviet invasion, war, instability Low 1.5 Mostly legal 1986 2.5 Intensified war, greater insecurity Low 2.5 Mostly legal 1996 3.0 Civil war, weak central government Low 3.0 Mostly legal 2001 2.8 Taliban ascendancy, religious/ethnic repression ~300 2.5 Mostly legal 2003 2.2 Taliban fall, voluntary repatriation ~600 1.6 Legal & returning 2011 1.7 Elected govt, relative stability, economic crisis Low 1.7 Mostly legal 2016 2.5 New insecurity, Afghan economic crisis Low 2.5 Legal & irregular 2021 3.0 Kabul fall, Taliban return, violence escalates Low 3.0 Sharp rise in irregular entry 2023 4.5 Fifth wave, intensified crisis, surge in irregular ~700 ~3.8 Mixed; predominantly irregular 2024 3.8 Mass deportations & repatriations begin ~1,200 ~2.6 Irregular & legal 2025 3.8 Continued returns/deportations, population control (up to 1,200–1,500) ~2.5 Mostly irregular Family-centric culture, tribal traditions and practices such as polygamy, together with a significant gap between many migrants' social codes and those of mainstream Iran, have complicated coexistence and sometimes caused friction over education, health and civic participation. Still, second- and third-generation Afghans – especially in major cities – have become Persian-speaking and bicultural. They often experience dual Iranian-Afghan identity. Afghan migration has been driven by Afghanistan's political turmoil, Iran's labor needs and changing Iranian state policies. Today, this population – split between documented and undocumented migrants – shapes Iran's social and economic scene while posing a mounting challenge for fiscal policy. The consequences go far beyond population statistics, as detailed in the financial analysis below. Iran's economy is built on a vast, inefficient and non-targeted subsidy system – one of the world's costliest. For a large, low-income migrant population like the Afghans, this has turned a social issue into a fiscal dilemma. The analysis below examines each major line item using official Iranian sources and independent research. Energy subsidies: Fuel and energy subsidies are the largest component. State price controls and below-market energy costs lead to enormous hidden expenditures for gasoline, gas, diesel and electricity. The Parliament Research Center and the World Bank estimate Iran's annual hidden energy subsidy at up to 1,200 trillion tomans ($286 billion). While Afghan migrants – mostly from low-income deciles and generally without private cars – consume less than the average Iranian, everyone benefits via subsidized public transit and heating. The per capita annual fuel subsidy for Afghans is about 10-13 million tomans, well below the 30 million for Iranians. The undocumented sector, operating more in the grey market, creates additional fiscal pressure. Education subsidies: Iranian law requires that all Afghan children, regardless of documentation, be enrolled in public schools (Cabinet Resolution 2015; UNHCR 2024). The Ministry of Education and the Parliament Research Center estimate the average annual cost per Afghan student at about 4.5 million tomans. With an estimated 300,000 Afghan children in schools, this is a significant and growing burden, the same for both legal and undocumented residents. Healthcare subsidies: Healthcare access depends on insurance and residency status. About one million Afghans have public health insurance (UNHCR 2024); others use public services sporadically. Average annual health spending per Afghan is estimated at about 2-3 million tomans – comparable to the lowest-income Iranian deciles. Bread subsidies: Bread is a staple for both Iranians and Afghans, and the state's bread subsidy is among its largest fiscal commitments. Per capita, Afghans receive about 4-5 million tomans per year in bread subsidies, based on average consumption (160-180 kg) and the price gap between subsidized and market bread. Afghan households, typically larger, often consume up to 25% more than Iranian families. Even undocumented migrants have virtually unrestricted access to subsidized bread. Overall, bread subsidies remain a central – and expensive – pillar of food security for both communities. Water and electricity subsidies: In migrant-concentrated areas, water and power use per household is lower due to simpler lifestyles, but the total population puts chronic strain on infrastructure. Per capita subsidy is about 3-4 million tomans annually. Municipal services: Public transport, waste collection, green spaces, and urban services add another 500,000 tomans per person per year – low in isolation, but substantial in the aggregate in urban centers. Annual cost of Afghan migrants (2025 estimates, in millions of USD) Subsidy Estimated Annual Cost per Legal Migrant (USD) Estimated Annual Cost per Undocumented Migrant (USD) Legal immigrant population (millions) legal immigrant population (millions) Total Annual Cost Legal Migrants (m USD) Total Annual Cost Undocumented Migrants (m USD) Total Grand Annual Cost (m USD) Fuel & Energy 114 148 0.9 2.1 102.3 307.4 409.7 Education 51 51 0.3 0.3 17.2 17.2 34.4 Healthcare 34 23 0.9 2.1 34.1 54.0 88.1 Bread & Food 51 57 0.9 2.1 41.4 113.3 154.7 Water & Electricity 40 40 0.9 2.1 32.1 74.7 106.8 Municipal Services 6 8 0.9 2.1 4.9 20.1 25.0 Total 232.0 586.7 818.7 Despite these costs, Afghan migration generates tangible economic gains. Afghan workers, with lower wages and roughly 15-20% higher productivity than Iranian peers, create an annual private sector saving of about $852 million (75,000 bn tomans). 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The net annual loss – over $1 billion – could build two 500-megawatt power plants or 200 modern schools in disadvantaged regions. Each year, the government could otherwise expand national infrastructure or offer full health insurance to every uninsured Iranian. The true challenge is not just migration, but Iran's untargeted and inefficient subsidy system and lack of migration management. Without reform, these fiscal burdens will keep rising. Clear policy, targeted subsidies and robust data are essential for Iran to balance economic needs, social cohesion and national stability. A senior economic analyst and construction project manager based in Tehran, Amirreza Etasi ( has worked for more than a decade at the intersection of public finance, energy and development policy, both in executive roles and as a contributor to major media outlets in Iran and abroad.