The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan for repression against women, which is a crime against humanity.

ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect that supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani "committed crimes against humanity, namely repression based on gender."

"Although the Taliban have imposed certain rules and restrictions on the entire population, they have specifically targeted girls and women because of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms," the court said, as quoted by AFP.

The alleged crimes were committed between August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power, and continued until at least January 20, 2025.

The Taliban "seriously deprived" girls and women of their rights to education, private and family life, as well as freedom of movement, expression, thought, conscience, and religion, the ICC judges said.

"In addition, other individuals have been persecuted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity have been deemed incompatible with the Taliban's gender policy," they added.

The ICC, based in The Hague, was established to rule on the most serious crimes in the world, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It does not have its own police force and relies on member states to enforce its arrest warrants – with varying results.

In theory, this means that anyone with an ICC arrest warrant cannot travel to a member state for fear of being detained. | BGNES