On the fifth day of the holy month of Ramadan, Afghan girls and women’s education advocate Matiula Wesa visited her neighborhood mosque in Kabul to offer asr (night) prayers. As the 30-year-old left a mosque with his younger brother Samiullah, he was surrounded by a group of armed men who claimed to be from the Intelligence Directorate, the Taliban’s intelligence service.
“When their brother Samiura asked them for their IDs, they showed their weapons instead, [Matiullah] Matiullah’s older brother, Ataullah Wesa, told Al Jazeera.
The next morning, Samiullah, 24, was also detained along with another brother, Wali Mohammad, 39, when Taliban security forces stormed his home in Kabul. Attaullah escaped arrest by hiding.
“They beat my brother and also took our devices like mobile phones and laptops,” said Atauller, 37, from an undisclosed location.
Matiura’s arrest on Monday took activists by surprise. The United Nations has asked Taliban authorities to make his whereabouts public and give him access to legal representation.
“We are aware of the continuing arbitrary arrests and detentions of civil society activists and media workers in Afghanistan, particularly the de facto restrictions that restrict women’s and girls’ access to education, jobs, and most opportunities. We are alarmed by the targeting of those who oppose the authorities’ discriminatory policies, in public and other areas of everyday life,” UN human rights spokesman Jeremy Lawrence said in a statement Wednesday.
Taliban Critics Restrict Girls’ Education
Matiula has criticized the Taliban’s restrictions on the education of girls and women and has repeatedly called for the education ban to be lifted.
High schools for girls have remained closed since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, and universities were closed to women in December as part of the group’s crackdown on women’s rights. .
“We knew something like this would happen sooner or later,” Ataura said, referring to Matiura’s arrest. “If you’re fighting for people’s basic rights, you can end up like that.”
Matiura is the face of an education organization called Pen Path, founded by the Wesa brothers in 2009 to improve and facilitate access to education throughout Afghanistan, including in remote areas affected by decades of conflict. I have served.
The Wesa brothers traveled on motorbikes to the most remote parts of the war-torn country, taking mobile libraries, distributing books and campaigning on the importance of education.
Their arrest, seen as part of a crackdown on dissent, has sparked criticism from Afghans and the international community.
“The Taliban first started by abusing, kidnapping, and detaining female protesters,” said Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan researcher in the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch. They are beginning to intimidate and abuse men who have participated in peaceful activities.”
“The Taliban fear that Afghan men and women will unite and fight for a better Afghanistan,” she told Al Jazeera.
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
The Wesa brothers are just the latest in a string of arrests by the Taliban targeting civil society activists and protesters who have spoken out against the closure of high schools and colleges for girls and women in the country.
In its latest quarterly report released in February, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documented 28 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of civil society activists and human rights defenders over the past three months.
At least three female protesters, identified as Roqiya Sai, Fatima Mohammadi and Malalai Hashemi, were arrested after taking part in a demonstration demanding the reopening of girls’ high schools in Kabul on Sunday.
The women were released the next day, but several other previously arrested activists were held for longer periods, alleging torture and ill-treatment at the hands of Taliban officials.
Another Afghan activist, Tamim, who demanded a name change for fear of repercussions from the authorities, said she was detained and beaten in custody for attending an International Women’s Day celebration.
“The agents came to our house, put a black bag over my head and took me to their department,” Tamim said. “They kept me there for four days, during which he didn’t tell my family where I was.”
“I was beaten and tortured badly every day,” he said. “They have no mercy.”
Tamim, a prominent human rights activist since the days of the pre-Western-backed Afghan government, shared a photo of his injuries with Al Jazeera. he said.
Tamim’s family was eventually informed of his arrest, but he was held for a week before being released on bail.
Taliban defend arrest
The Taliban have not commented on the other detentions, but senior Taliban leader and spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid referred to the case of Matiura Wesa. He said he was arrested for inciting the public to oppose the regime.
In a separate interview with Voice of America, Mujahid accused the Weser brothers of “misconduct” but did not provide further details.
Al Jazeera reached out to Abdul Haq Hamad, director of publications at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information and Culture, for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
“His actions are questionable and the system has the right to demand an explanation from such people,” Hamad said in a tweet Wednesday, in a clear reference to Matiura.
Attaullah said the gunmen who attacked the Wesa brothers’ parents’ home in Kabul questioned them about their work in Pen Pass.
“They were angry about our girls’ education campaign, but they also questioned my family about the foreigners we regularly interacted with as part of our advocacy,” he said. He said.
Matiura recently returned from a trip to Europe before being arrested.
“They asked my brother which embassy we were receiving funding from. , said Atoullah, referring to the tricolor flag adopted by the previous republican government in place of the Taliban’s white flag.
