The outgoing cabinet will deport two women to Afghanistan, despite the Taliban’s discriminatory policy towards women. The women’s lawyers confirm this NRCafter earlier reporting by Fidelity.
It concerns a woman of 59 and one of 79. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), they could comply with the rules of life that the Taliban impose on women and girls in the country. Because of the same rules, the Netherlands, together with several other countries, has a case against Afghanistan pending at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
These strict rules of life include that women are not allowed to go outside without a (male) supervisor, must always walk covered up, are not allowed to talk on the street and are no longer allowed to work in most sectors. In the rankings of the American Georgetown Institute, which examines the social position of women, Afghanistan ranks first among all countries last place.
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Non-Westernized
In the case of the 79-year-old woman, the IND states that she must return to Afghanistan because she has not been “westernized”. This would allow her to adapt to the Taliban’s rules of life. The court in The Hague overturned that judgment in August, but the IND stuck to its position. The woman appeals again; the case will be heard in mid-November.
The 59-year-old woman will not receive a residence permit from the IND because she was mainly active in the household in Afghanistan and did not usually walk the streets alone, writes Fidelity. The fact that the woman dares to work in the Netherlands and walks the streets alone was not enough reason for the IND not to send her back. The case is now before the Council of State.
The Netherlands is still assessing the asylum requests of Afghan women on the basis of an official report from June 2023. It follows that an Afghan must demonstrate “that she cannot conform to the norms and rules of life imposed by the Taliban”, according to an Letter to Parliament from 2024. The woman must also demonstrate that “by not complying [daar]by […] is at risk of (serious acts of) persecution.”
EU countries
The women’s lawyers point out that the European Court of Justice has since judgement issued, stating that the Taliban’s measures are so severe that they can be considered persecution of women. This gives EU countries a reason to, in principle, grant asylum to every Afghan woman.
The IND refuses this, says the lawyer of the 79-year-old woman. “They fear a pull effect.” According to him, this fear is unfounded: “If you look at the number of Afghan women who come to the Netherlands, that is a handful of cases per year.”
An IND spokesperson says he cannot make any statements about individual cases. But if the Taliban rules in themselves are a reason to grant asylum, he says, “you can admit the entire female population of Afghanistan. And not just Afghanistan, but also from Saudi Arabia, etc. The criteria are that you must be in serious danger. An assessment has been made, which turned out negative for these women.”
Double role
Outgoing Minister of Asylum and Migration David van Weel (VVD) plays a remarkable dual role in this case, writes Fidelity. He is responsible for the IND, but is also Minister of Foreign Affairs. In that role, he is responsible for the case that, among others, the Netherlands brought against Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice for failure to comply with the UN Convention on Women.
The lawyer for the 59-year-old woman calls it opposite Fidelity “It is impossible to explain” that on the one hand the minister is suing the Taliban for discrimination against women, but on the other hand he wants to send his client back despite the discrimination against women.
A spokesperson for the minister says he does not comment on individual cases.
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