The Long Road to Justice for Afghan Women
For Afghan women, who feel deserted by the international community as their lives have been crushed under the brutal rule of the Taliban, there may finally be a potential avenue for justice.
We should welcome International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan's decision to apply for arrest warrants for the Taliban's Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who he says bear criminal responsibility for the persecution of Afghan women and girls. The list of violations is extensive, and includes murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.K. and others sanction far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers over violence in the West Bank
JERUSALEM — Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel's settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, are champions of Israeli settlement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there. They could now face asset freezes and travel bans. The five countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.' U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the two men 'have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months' and 'encouraging egregious abuses of human rights.' The announcement came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel's actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a monthslong blockade that led to famine warnings. Israel's Foreign Ministry said earlier it had been informed of the sanctions. Smotrich, the finance minister, wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. 'We are determined to continue building,' he said. 'We overcame Pharoah, we'll overcome Starmer's Wall.' Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, wrote on social media, referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision 'outrageous.' He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel's response. Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel's conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the the court of being biased against Israel. The Biden administration took the rare step of sanctioning radical Israeli settlers implicated in violence in the occupied West Bank — sanctions that were lifted by President Trump. Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer who spent years campaigning for the sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir — along with violent West Bank settlers — described Tuesday's move as 'historic.' 'It means the wall of immunity that Israeli politicians had has been broken,' he said. 'It's unbelievable that it took so long for Western governments to sanction Israeli politicians, and the fact that it's being done while Trump is president is quite amazing.' Mack added: 'It is a message to Netanyahu himself that he could be next.' Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Successive Israeli governments have promoted settlement growth and construction stretching back decades. It has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements across the West Bank that house more than 500,000 settlers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the territory's 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority administering population centers. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal, and Palestinians see them as the greatest obstacle to an eventual two-state solution, which is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict. Frankel and Lawless write for the Associated Press. Lawless reported from London.
Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Iran says it executed 9 Islamic State group militants detained after a 2018 attack
The extremist group, which once held vast territory across Iraq and Syria in a self-described caliphate it declared in 2014, ultimately was beaten back by U.S.-led forces. It has been in disarray in the years since, though it has mounted major assaults. In neighboring Afghanistan, for instance, the Islamic State group is believed to have grown in strength since the fall of the Western-backed government there to the Taliban in 2021. Advertisement The group previously claimed a June 2017 attack in Tehran on parliament and a mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. It has claimed other attacks as well in Iran, including two suicide bombings in 2024 targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. That assault killed at least 94 people.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Afghans in Northern Virginia react to first day of travel ban
ALEXANDRIA, Va. () — Monday marks the first day of President Donald Trump's latest travel ban, which includes mostly African and Middle Eastern countries. Over the past few years, thousands of Afghan refugees have come to the D.C. area. Afghanistan is now on that travel ban list. Can you still visit the countries listed under Trump's travel ban? At the Afghan Market in Alexandria, people who spoke with DC News Now discussed a level of disappointment at the ban. 'We are disappointed about the travel ban, especially for those Afghan allies that they left behind,' said Farid Younsei, who lives in Virginia. Younsei said many in the Afghan community in Northern Virginia came to the U.S. during mass evacuations once the Taliban took over, but not all of their family members joined them. 'Most of them are in neighboring countries, like in Pakistan, and in Qatar, and in United Arab Emirates,' he said. Those family members left behind are the people on the minds of those who spoke about the travel ban. 'I kinda worry about them because one day, or maybe another day, they're going to figure it out about them — that they used to work with the embassy, or used to work with the government. And your life would be in danger. 100%,' Fertaos Bakhshi, of Alexandria, said. Trump's rationale for the travel ban is public safety. 'We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,' the president said in a video on social media. International students confused, anxious about their futures under second Trump term At the market in Alexandria, there's a feeling that the ban can harm those looking for a better and safer life. 'If you compare Afghanistan to United States, it means like you compare hell to paradise,' Bakhshi said. 'The bad and good, now the immigrants, they're getting mixed with each other. So it's kind of difficult to separate them.' The leader of a local organization supporting newly arriving Afghan refugees tells DC News Now it's important to note that the U.S. government is continuing to issue special immigrant visas and is allowing the recipients of the SIVs and their families to travel. However, they also expressed that one of the most significant concerns is that it takes away some of the different tools to help reunite families who have been separated during the initial evacuation, or later due to the visa process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
