The Taliban exerts total control over Afghanistan and there is no religious freedom to follow any faith outside their extremely hardline version of Islam. In Afghanistan, leaving Islam is considered shameful by family and community, and conversion is punishable by death under Islamic law – which has been increasingly enforced since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. If converts from Islam are discovered, the family, clan or tribe may try to preserve its so-called ‘honour’ and oppose the convert through pressure, violence or even murder. Women have no rights in Afghanistan, and women from religious minorities are especially vulnerable to physical abuse, house arrest, forced marriage or sexual enslavement.
