The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against two high-ranking Taliban leaders—supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani—on the charge of crimes against humanity for the systematic persecution of Afghan women and girls.
In a Tuesday statement, the ICC stated that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two leaders masterminded and implemented policies that denied Afghan women basic rights, such as education, work, freedom of movement, expression, and religion.
Policies Charged with Building Gender Apartheid
The court noted that ever since the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, the regime has come up with a series of repressive actions against women. These include the prohibition of girls going to secondary schools, the exclusion of women from employment in most industries, and the limitation of their access to public areas.
All these practices, the rights organizations say, have resulted in a regime of gender apartheid and pushed Afghan women into social and political invisibility.
Global Response Welcomes ICC Action
Canadian-based Afghan women’s rights activist Tahera Nasiri welcomed the ICC action, stating it was a long-overdue acknowledgment of the abuse Afghan women have suffered.
Four years, they’ve been telling us to shut up, stay indoors, hide our faces, abandon education, voices and dreams. And now an international court is saying: ‘Enough. This is a crime,'” she explained in an interview with The Guardian.
Nasiri further explained that the warrants designate the Taliban leaders as international criminals.
“Even if Akhundzada and Haqqani never appear before a court, they now bear the stigma of international criminals. They are no longer merely leaders of Afghanistan; they are wanted men,” she remarked.
Criminal Responsibility for Gender-Based Crimes
The head prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, opened the request for the warrants in January 2025. When making the announcement, he stated:
“Our commitment to pursuing accountability for gender-based crimes, including gender persecution, is an absolute priority.”
The Taliban commanders are “criminally responsible” for enacting policies that systematically violate the rights of Afghan girls and women, Khan said.
Human Rights Groups Appeal for International Action
Human Rights Watch welcomed the ICC decision as a watershed for worldwide accountability. “The senior Taliban leaders are now men wanted for their alleged persecution of women, girls and gender non-conforming individuals,” the organisation’s director of international justice, Liz Evenson, said.
She called on the international community to stand behind the ICC and see that perpetrators of gender-based atrocities are brought to justice.
Uncertain Future for Afghan Women
As strong as the ICC’s stance has been, it remains to be seen whether the warrants will bring about any real change on the ground in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime has refused to accept the jurisdiction of international institutions such as the ICC.
Still, for many Afghan women and advocates, the move represents a symbolic victory and a call to the world to stop ignoring their plight under a regime accused of systematically erasing their existence