Afghanistan: Purple Saturdays Movement Urges Global Action Over Allegations of Taliban Prison Abuse :
The Purple Saturdays movement in a statement about U.S. State Department report, says the human rights abuses and harassment of imprisoned women described in the report are just a “small fraction” of the “the Taliban crimes”.
The women’s protest movement believes that many Afghan citizens, particularly women, are imprisoned in Taliban jails, and their names remain unpublished due to fear of the Taliban and traditional societal views.
Over the past nearly three years, the Taliban’s actions against the people of Afghanistan, especially women, represent an “extreme interpretation” of their religion and Sharia law, according to the movement.
The “Purple Saturdays” statement claimed that Taliban prisons are torture sites for humans and women, necessitating “maximum pressure and serious oversight” of these facilities.
“The Purple Saturdays Movement, advocating for women’s rights in Afghanistan, has intensified its calls for international scrutiny of Taliban-run prisons amidst alarming reports of abuse. Despite repeated appeals to the United Nations, Amnesty International, and human rights groups, concerns voiced by the movement have allegedly been overlooked. Reports flooding in from within Taliban prisons paint a harrowing picture of female inmates subjected to sexual assault and psychological torment, described as a form of mental and physical torture. The movement, spurred by these distressing accounts, has amplified its efforts to draw attention to the plight of these incarcerated women. With hundreds of testimonies pouring in from girls detained in Taliban facilities, the urgency for immediate action has escalated. The Purple Saturdays Movement emphasizes the critical need for international intervention to safeguard the human rights and dignity of women enduring these egregious conditions. Despite the silence from global organizations, the Purple Saturdays Movement remains steadfast in its commitment to advocating for the vulnerable and marginalized, vowing to continue its campaign until concrete steps are taken to address the alarming situation in Taliban prisons.”
