Gender-based violence in cyberspace
The “16 Days of Activism” campaign is a global movement aimed at raising awareness and ending gender-based violence against women and girls. Held annually from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day), the campaign brings together countries, civil society organizations, and activists. This year’s theme, “United to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls,” emphasizes the urgent need to combat online harassment and discrimination.
The Rights Monitor Media will cover the campaign by sharing news, reports, personal stories, and reflections from Afghan women and girls, highlighting their experiences with violence and restrictions.
Mursal Saias
Journalist and Human Rights Activist
The roots of gender-based violence in Afghanistan cannot be reduced to a single cause. Patriarchal structures, the historical concentration of power in the hands of men, male-dominated interpretations of religion, and both economic and sexual deprivation have together created a long-standing system that polices women’s bodies and limits their presence in society. Decades of repression have reinforced these forces, producing a culture that continually reproduces sexual violence and gender-based domination.
Online harassment is not new. In the past, however, women had limited apperiences on social media because notions of family “honor” and traditional pressures kept them silent. As women—inside the country and among the diaspora—enter public and digital spaces in greater numbers, the violence has not increased; it has simply become more visible.
The Taliban’s rule, and its system of gender apartheid, has amplified this violence. In a structure where no humane legal framework exists and every regulation targets women, the Taliban have not only erased women from public life but have also mobilized men as instruments of control. By threatening male family members—warning that they will be punished if a woman leaves the house—the regime has turned society against women and against itself, blocking any form of collective resistance. The result is absolute impunity for abusive men, who act with full confidence that no accountability mechanism exists.
Even filing a complaint exposes women to greater danger. Reporting violence to the Taliban often results in further abuse in detention. This entrenches a cycle in which the system, the laws, and the power structure all work against women—empowering perpetrators and punishing victims.
