human rights defender
Manizha Seddiqi
Actions and Campaigns
Manizha Seddiqi
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Urgent support needed
Medical assistance. Manizha Seddiqi suffers from serious health issues, including breathing difficulties, caused by the severe stress of her detention, and urgently requires medical treatment.
Financial support. She lacks work documentation, facing extreme economic hardship and insecurity.
Relocation to a safer place for herself and her family due to ongoing threats. Recently, she received threats via WhatsApp.
Organization affiliation
- Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women
HRD's year of birth
1957
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- NGO member
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Women's rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
Released
HRD's bio and work
Manizha Seddiqi, from Parwan Province, Afghanistan, is a women’s rights activist and former member of the “Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women" protesters. She joined protests advocating for women’s education and human rights, opposing Taliban policies.
Detained since
Oct 9, 2023
Date of release
Apr 6, 2024
Charge(s)
- Anti-government propaganda
Sentence
One and a half years in prison
Latitude: 34.522746028534314
Longitude: 69.182625366973
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: Southern Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Kabul
Location of detention - Facility
Directorate 40 of General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI)
Recent case update / evolution
Manizha Seddiqi was arrested on October 9, 2023, in Kabul by Taliban forces and initially held for two months in the Taliban Intelligence Directorate.
She was later sentenced to one and a half years in prison for allegedly burning a photo of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. She refused to accept the verdict and protested. Her family was forced to pay $5,000 to the Taliban, and three family members acted as guarantors. She was also coerced into a forced confession, agreeing not to leave the country and to cooperate with the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate (Directorate 40). She transferred to Pul-e-Charkhi prison on December 5, 2023.
Manizha Seddiqi was released on April 6, 2024 under a general amnesty for Eid al-Fitr.
Any other relevant documents
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa11/7611/2024/en/
https://kabulnow.com/2024/07/afghanistans-future-is-defined-by-its-womens-movement/
https://srmo.uk/?p=1453
https://paigah- news.com/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9% 81-%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%98%D9%87- %D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%82%DB%8C- %D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87- %D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AA- %D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86/
https://www.independentpersian.com/tags/%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%98 %D9%87-%D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%82%DB%8C
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1957
- HRD's Gender
- Woman
- Type of HRD
- NGO member
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Women's rights
- Organization affiliation
- Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Manizha Seddiqi, from Parwan Province, Afghanistan, is a women’s rights activist and former member of the “Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women" protesters. She joined protests advocating for women’s education and human rights, opposing Taliban policies.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Urban
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Asia: Southern Asia
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Kabul
- Location of detention - Facility
- Directorate 40 of General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI)
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 34.522746028534314
Longitude: 69.182625366973
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Oct 9, 2023
- Current Status
- Released
- Date of release
- Apr 6, 2024
- Charge(s)
- Anti-government propaganda
- Sentence
One and a half years in prison
- Recent case update / evolution
Manizha Seddiqi was arrested on October 9, 2023, in Kabul by Taliban forces and initially held for two months in the Taliban Intelligence Directorate.
She was later sentenced to one and a half years in prison for allegedly burning a photo of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. She refused to accept the verdict and protested. Her family was forced to pay $5,000 to the Taliban, and three family members acted as guarantors. She was also coerced into a forced confession, agreeing not to leave the country and to cooperate with the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate (Directorate 40). She transferred to Pul-e-Charkhi prison on December 5, 2023.
Manizha Seddiqi was released on April 6, 2024 under a general amnesty for Eid al-Fitr.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Upon arrest, Manizha Seddiqi was struck on the shoulder with the butt of a rifle and transferred to Directorate 40 prison, where detainees are reportedly subjected to various forms of torture. During her detention, she endured severe physical and psychological abuse, including sexual assault — once at Directorate 40 and again at Pul-e-Charkhi prison. She was held without legal representation or family contact, coerced into a forced confession agreeing not to leave the country and to cooperate with the Taliban’s Intelligence Directorate, and faced threats and intimidation. These experiences left her deeply traumatized, with lasting psychological effects.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Urgent support needed
Medical assistance. Manizha Seddiqi suffers from serious health issues, including breathing difficulties, caused by the severe stress of her detention, and urgently requires medical treatment.
Financial support. She lacks work documentation, facing extreme economic hardship and insecurity.
Relocation to a safer place for herself and her family due to ongoing threats. Recently, she received threats via WhatsApp.
- Any other relevant documents
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa11/7611/2024/en/
https://kabulnow.com/2024/07/afghanistans-future-is-defined-by-its-womens-movement/
https://srmo.uk/?p=1453
https://paigah- news.com/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9% 81-%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%98%D9%87- %D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%82%DB%8C- %D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87- %D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AA- %D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86/
https://www.independentpersian.com/tags/%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%98 %D9%87-%D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%82%DB%8C
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
sorted by
Date added
4 relationships, 3 entities