Australia Targets Four Taliban Officials With Sanctions Over Women’s Rights Abuses

Australia Imposes Targeted Sanctions Over Worsening Rights Situation

Australia has announced financial sanctions and travel bans on four senior officials in Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, citing a severe and ongoing deterioration in the human rights situation for women and girls.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the measures as part of a "world‑first" autonomous sanctions framework for Afghanistan, saying it allows Australia to directly impose sanctions and travel bans to increase pressure on the Taliban. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the framework also introduces an arms embargo and prohibits "providing related services and activities to Afghanistan." DFAT confirmed a humanitarian permit is carved out of the new rules to ensure aid can continue to reach those in need.

Officials Named

• Muhammad Khalid Hanafi — Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
• Neda Mohammad Nadeem — Minister of Higher Education
• Abdul‑Hakim Sharei — Minister of Justice
• Abdul Hakim Haqqani — Chief Justice

Wong said the sanctions target the officials for their roles "in the oppression of women and girls and in undermining good governance or the rule of law," citing restrictions on education, employment, freedom of movement and participation in public life.

“Our thoughts are with those suffering under the Taliban’s oppression, as well as the Afghan community in Australia.” — Penny Wong

International Context

Australia said its autonomous framework "builds on" around 140 individuals and entities it already sanctions under the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban framework. In July, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani and the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, accusing them of crimes against humanity for persecuting women and girls.

The ICC has said the Taliban "severely deprived" women and girls of rights including education, privacy, family life and freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. United Nations figures have estimated that at least 1.4 million girls — roughly 80% of school‑age girls — have been denied their right to education since the Taliban returned to power after the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.

Afghans have also been pushed further into poverty, analysts say, in part because restrictions on women working have removed livelihoods and contributed to wider economic collapse, leaving many communities heavily reliant on humanitarian assistance.

The Taliban government has rejected international accusations, saying it respects women’s rights "within the framework of Islamic law." The group has not publicly responded to Canberra’s latest measures.

Australia emphasized the humanitarian carve‑out in its new sanctions regime to allow assistance to continue while maintaining pressure on Taliban leaders and institutions responsible for systematic abuses.