What you need to know

• Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the plight of Afghans has only deteriorated, with millions impoverished while authorities violate basic human rights daily, according to the UN Human Rights Office
• Women, in particular, are facing the brunt of the Taliban rule, and since 2021, over two million Afghan girls and women have been denied access to secondary and higher education
• Both women and men are being arrested by the Taliban’s Office for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, primarily for alleged violations of strict dress codes, beard length, and the playing of, or listening to, music
• Censorship of the media, temporary closures of media outlets and arrests of journalists also continue.
• At least 449 men and women were subjected to corporal punishment by the de facto authorities in the first half of the year, according to the UN

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