Malala believes she was targeted by the Taliban for merely not wearing a burqa. Then she was detained for photos on her phone of women’s rights protests. But what she endured at the hands of Taliban forces while in custody has no justification.
Videos and photos seen by Rukhshana Media show the bruising all over Malala’s body – her arms, shoulders, back, thighs and legs. She says it was the result of whipping, punching, and kicking by her Taliban captors.
A doctor confirmed to Rukhshana Media from the images provided that the bruising and marks are consistent with the descriptions given by Malala.
“Not a single part of my body remained white. They beat me all over, to the extent that I bled. I still have bruises on my body,” Malala says.
Morality police question her about clothing
The 20-year-old was picked up by Taliban forces while travelling to Takhar province from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. She was in the car with her niece when she was arrested in Takhar’s Khos Kapa area.
It was December 30 and Taliban ‘morality police’ linked to the Department of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had begun increasing their targeting of women over clothing.
Malala says she was in full Islamic garb with a long black chador, a long black headscarf covering her hair, and a black mask covering most of her face. But it was not an all-covering burqa, which would also cover her eyes.
photo: submitted to Rukhshana media. A doctor confirmed to Rukhshana Media from the images provided that the bruising and marks are consistent with the descriptions given by Malala.
“Five Taliban forces without uniforms stopped our car and demanded that I give them my mobile phone. But when I refused, they hit me on the shoulder with their guns,” she says.
Malala was studying law and political science while working at a telecommunications company before Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
She also knows the principles of her religion Islam.
“Although they [the Taliban] insist they are implementing Islamic Sharia, Islamic law does not allow men to touch a women’s hand – or force a phone from her hand. But they grabbed it and opened my phone and saw pictures of women’s protests in the gallery. They told me, You’re a spy and you’re coming from Kabul to encourage the girls and women against us, to make them stand up against us,” she says.
Malala tells Rukhshana Media she had never participated in the women’s protests, but the photos had been shared with her and automatically saved to her photo gallery.
The Taliban didn’t accept her explanation.
Captors blame her for turning women against Taliban
They forced her and her niece into their vehicle and took them to the Vice and Virtue department in Takhar. She says she could hear the men telling each other, “She is the one who makes the girls and women stand against us.”
“We were transferred to a very dirty and dark room. A Talib was sitting on a chair. About 10 or 12 Taliban surrounded me and without any questions, they attacked me one by one with whips in their hands,” she says.
Malalai says that one of the Taliban kicked her head and hit the area of her mouth with his boots. The blow damaged her braces and left her with profuse bleeding inside her mouth.
“They would beat me ten lashes very hard, and then they would laugh and give the whip to another hand and leave the room,” she says.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Arbitrary detention and punishment of women widespread
Malala’s report is similar to the many stories emerging of girls and women who have been in Taliban custody. Those who are willing to share their story have talked of how they were subjected to some form of physical and mental torture.
The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan has also documented cases of torture and mistreatment of prisoners by the Taliban.
“In an attempt to obtain confessions or other information, detainees were subjected to severe pain and suffering through physical beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, stressful situations and forced drinking of water, as well as blindfolds and threats,” UNAMA reported.
Since January 1, a Taliban crackdown on women’s clothing has led to dozens of arbitrary arrests, especially in west Kabul.
Many of these women have said that if their families were contacted, they were forced to pay an amount of money for their release. Other families say they are not contacted at all.
For Malala – who lives only with her mother in Kabul – her married sister in Takhar found out about her arrest from others who witnessed it.
Malala’s brother-in-law contacted Takhar’s Vice and Virtue office.
“My sister’s husband told them that this girl lives with her old mother and came here [to Takhar] for a short visit. She doesn’t understand your rules, and she’s not a member of any women’s protest group either.”
After her release from Taliban detention, Malalai called her friend Zarghuna* via video call.
“I saw bruises and bleeding marks on her shoulders, arms, and legs due to her beatings through the video call. Seeing her like that was terrifying for me because I had heard about the torture and what was happening in the Taliban prisons, but I had never seen a girl who’d been beaten up close,” Zarghuna tells Rukhshana Media.
Zarghuna accompanied Malala’s mother to collect her. She says Malala’s mother fainted when she saw the injuries to her daughter.
“Malala’s mother suffers from a heart problem. As soon as she saw Malala, she screamed and cried, she threw herself into my arms, and fainted. We transferred her to the clinic near our house,” Zarghuna says.
Zarghuna is angry at the international community’s silence in the face of the Taliban, especially the United Nations which she feels has remained silent against the rule of a group that does not respect women.
For Malala, she continues to live in fear of the Taliban targeting her again after photos of her injuries where shared on social media.
“The situation is worrying, and I don’t know where to go and what to do, who to talk to, and who to consult with,” she says.
Taliban authorities have refused to comment on these cases or have denied they happen at all.
Note: Names are chosen pseudonyms due to security reasons.
