The International Criminal Court (ICC) is pursuing arrest warrants for Taliban officials due to alleged gender-based crimes, as the group intensifies its repression of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

In a statement released on Thursday, the ICC prosecutor’s office indicated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Chief Justice of the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,’ hold criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of gender-based persecution.

The requests for arrest warrants, initiated by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, must still receive judicial approval. Should the warrants be granted, the court, located in the Netherlands, lacks its own enforcement capabilities and depends on the cooperation of member states to carry out arrests.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, women and girls have been largely excluded from public life.

Initially, the Taliban government portrayed itself as more moderate compared to its rule in the 1990s, claiming it would permit women to pursue education.

However, the group has reversed its stance, prohibiting women from attending universities, closing secondary schools and beauty salons, and barring women from working with NGOs, including those affiliated with the United Nations.

One of the most recent decrees from the Taliban government mandates that new buildings must not have windows that allow visibility of women. Existing structures with such windows are required to be covered or bricked up. Zabihullah Mujahid, a government spokesperson, stated, “Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards, or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed its approval of the arrest warrants issued on Thursday, stating that they serve as “a reminder that justice can prevail.”

Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher for HRW, remarked to CNN, “For the past three and a half years, the Taliban have systematically stripped women and girls in Afghanistan of their basic rights. It is time for them to be held accountable for these violations.”

She further noted, “We also hope to see the ICC broaden its investigation to include other serious abuses, particularly those perpetrated by international military forces and the Islamic State in Afghanistan.”

While no country officially recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, some nations, including Russia, China, and Pakistan, have established diplomatic relations with the group.