18-02-2025 10:00
CJEU judgment recognizing the Taliban’s Oppression of Afghan Women as Persecution
Other events
LIBE
On 18 February, LIBE Members have exchanged on the topics of gender-based violence and the right to international protection of Afghan women and girls with representatives of the European Commission and the UNHCR Representation for EU Affairs.
On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that systemic discrimination such as that faced by Afghan women under the Taliban's rule amounts to persecution under EU asylum law. The judgment, prompted by requests for a preliminary ruling by the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court, affirms that taken cumulatively, the lack of protection from gender-based and domestic violence and forced marriage, along with forced veiling and restrictions on education, employment, healthcare, movement, and political participation, violates human dignity. The CJEU clarified that asylum authorities need not consider other factors regarding an applicant's individual status besides her gender and nationality when assessing whether the accumulation of discriminatory measures amounts to persecution, thus strengthening Afghan women's right to international protection.