human rights defender

Munisa Mubariz

Actions and Campaigns

HRD's year of birth

1988

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

Monessa Mobarez is a prominent Afghan women's rights and human rights activist, and the founder of the Empowered Women of Afghanistan Movement. She holds degrees in Law, Political Science, and International Relations. With 11 years of experience, she has worked on projects with organizations like the World Bank and served as a Gender Officer.

Monessa has actively led protests against the Taliban’s policies and organized demonstrations for women’s rights. In August 2022, she was detained for several hours after leading a protest against the Taliban’s restrictions on women. She has also taught at universities in Kabul and Balkh.

In 2023, she was nominated for a Central European University award for her human rights advocacy.

Detained since

Aug 13, 2022

Date of release

Aug 13, 2022

Charge(s)

  • Anti-government propaganda

Latitude: 34.52857492122667

Longitude: 69.17142425589995

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Asia: Southern Asia

Location of detention - City/Town

Kabul

Location of detention - Facility

Kabul Detention Center

Allegations / reports of ill-treatment

During a protest at Sadarat Square of Kabul against the Taliban, Munisa Mobarez and other women faced violent suppression. Protesters were forced to flee in different directions, and several women were beaten with weapons. Mobarez, who had previously undergone spinal surgery, was severely beaten, collapsed to the ground, and her condition worsened due to the assault. She later required a second surgery abroad.

After seeking refuge in a basement under a pharmacy, she and others were found by the Taliban and detained for four hours.

Recent case update / evolution

After her initial detention, Monessa Mobarez continued to face threats from the Taliban. She was detained again for two hours during a protest against Taliban-imposed dress code restrictions at the entrance of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue. Due to escalating threats, she began changing her residence nightly for safety. Eventually, she fled abroad.

Any other relevant documents

https://www.linkedin.com/in/munisamubariz/?originalSubdomain=ca

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/13/taliban-disperse-rare-womens-protest-in-kabul

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2022/08/13/female-protesters-beaten-by-taliban-fighters-during-rare-kabul-rally.html

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-177496

https://www.afghanwomennews.com/en/talibans-arbitrary-detentions-have-resulted-into-the-apprehension-of-khatera-rasikh/?print=1

https://www.afghanwomennews.com/en/talibans-arbitrary-detentions-have-resulted-into-the-apprehension-of-khatera-rasikh/?print=1

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