Gender Apartheid Under Taliban Rule: Legal Gaps in the Rome Statute and Prosecuting Denial of Women’s Rights

Abstract

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they systematically violated the rights of women and girls through more than fifty official decrees that restricted their access to education, employment, free movement, and participating in public activities. These measures collectively form an intentional and institutionalized system of domination that many scholars and human rights bodies describe as gender apartheid. Despite growing international recognition of this reality, international law does not explicitly recognize gender apartheid as a distinct international crime. This research examines how the Taliban implements its policies through its administrative system to meet the legal criteria of apartheid under current provisions of international criminal law, while determining what legal and institutional changes are needed to establish accountability systems. Using qualitative methods, this study applies feminist legal theory and interdisciplinary human rights analysis to a comparative examination of the first Taliban regime (1996-2001) and the current government (2021 to present). It further assesses the Rome Statute, relevant international human rights treaties, and available judicial mechanisms through expert interviews and survey data collected from Afghan women. The findings shows that the Taliban operates a structured and institutionalized system of gender-based discrimination that fulfill all necessary criteria for apartheid, except for racial discrimination as defined in the Rome Statute. This racial limitation creates a significant legal gap that prevents full recognition of the Taliban’s system of domination. Overall, the research demonstrates the need for doctrinal development within international criminal law and contributes to feminist legal scholarship by strengthening global accountability frameworks capable of recognizing and responding to the lived realities of Afghan women.