Taliban leaders on the list of defendants in the People’s Court for Afghan Women.
The People’s Court for Afghan Women began on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, in Madrid, Spain.
The court, which is attended by judges, prosecutors, victims and human rights activists, tries Taliban leaders for widespread repression and violation of the rights of Afghan women and girls.
According to the prosecutors, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Khalid Hanafi, Neda Mohammad Nadim, Noor Mohammad Saqib, Habibullah Agha, Abdul Hakim Haqqani and Abdul Haq Wasiq are among the senior Taliban figures who have been introduced as accused.
Ursula Nemat, the court’s prosecutor, said in a statement that all power in the Taliban regime was concentrated in the hands of a small, unaccountable circle that designed and directed repressive policies and approaches against women.
On the first day of the trial, several women, including Atefa Hamidi and Parwana Ibrahimkhel, victims of Taliban violence, testified about torture, threats and inhuman treatment during their detention.
They said the Taliban had imprisoned and tortured women protesters on baseless charges.
The court is headed by Rashida Manjo, a South African law professor and former UN rapporteur on violence against women.
He stressed that the court is a symbolic attempt to document the Taliban’s crimes and bring the voice of the victims to the international community.
