Taliban sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence, says UN report

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report says Taliban officials are sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence. Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored specialized women protection centers in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. Now there are none, the U.N. report said Thursday. Taliban officials have sent women to prison for their protection when there were safety concerns, similar to how prisons have been used to accommodate drug addicts and homeless people in Kabul. Nobody from the Taliban-led administration was available for comment about the report or to provide information on where survivors of gender-based violence can seek help, protection measures, or conviction rates for perpetrators.