Now’s the Time to Prosecute the Taliban for War Crimes

It is this view that perceives only nation states to be human rights abusers that must change drastically for groups like the Taliban to be held accountable for their brutality. The lack of an existing system of justice in Afghanistan means that unless international mechanisms of justice get actively involved in the situation, Afghan civilians will remain helpless before the bloodthirsty campaign of the Taliban. Women like Sanam Gul will continue to die at their hands in acts of political theatre that manipulate faith to keep a population in constant fear. Because of this Amnesty International is calling for the investigation of Taliban crimes so that they may be prosecuted for war crimes.

The Face We Can’t Ignore: Women in Afghanistan

War is horrific, its misery recorded in lurid detail in the tragedy of Aisha’s mutilation, but the war we have waged has required taking sides. Withdrawing without a plan for safeguarding the women who chose to believe in the American promises of empowerment, however deceitfully they may have been made, is to live in denial of a tragedy in which we are roundly implicated.