On May 14th, Russia announced that it will be establishing a “full-fledged partnership” with the Taliban, the Islamist extremist militant group that is serving as the de facto government of Afghanistan. Russian officials such as Sergei Shoigu, who serves as Secretary of the Russian Security Council, are encouraging other actors in the region to follow suit in expanding cooperation with the extremist group. Shoigu expressed that a “pragmatic” approach to cooperation was being developed including that of trade, security, culture, and humanitarian support in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting with his counterparts who come from states such as China, Iran, India, Pakistan, and many ex-Soviet states. In this meeting, he expressed that the counterparts should revive their conversations with the Taliban.
The Taliban affirmed this new relationship as a means to overcome the international isolation they have faced while rebuilding the economy in Afghanistan. Russia’s stance on becoming further involved with the Taliban has been to fill the “vacuum” Western powers left and secure its influence on regions to the south of its borders, according to some experts; regional interest stems from combatting security threats from other extremist groups such as ISIS-K, the Taliban’s greatest rival. After formally recognizing the Taliban last year, critics argue that Russia’s acknowledgement creates human rights consequences but also provides the Taliban with international legitimacy, despite being a group that lacks “domestic legitimacy,” silences opposition, and imposes severe gender apartheid on the Afghan population.
Regardless of the “pragmatic” framing as described by Russia for the new cooperation efforts, the Taliban has still committed grave gender-based abuses. Russian framing ignores this fact. The Taliban maintains draconian laws that restrict women’s freedom of movement, places bans on higher education, and greatly limits employment opportunities in order to enforce extreme gender apartheid. This implies the human rights of women and girls are negotiable and only valued when convenient. This undermining of international human rights standards stands in the way of peace; without placing specific requirements on the Taliban for human rights reforms in the cooperation between Russia and the Taliban for security, the approach is not holistic or pragmatic, but a form of appeasement.
The Taliban seized power in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, following 20 years of war. Russia is the first in the international community to recognize the group as a government entity in Afghanistan. The group was originally outlawed by Russia in 2003 due to its status as an extremist organization, but the ban was lifted due to shifting Russian views that working with the Taliban was a growing necessity. Russia has stated that it faces major security threats from several Islamist militant groups amassing 23,000 members in the region; thus, the recognition of the Taliban provides Russia with certain security guarantees. In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted talks with the Taliban, which called for strengthened relations and a shift in regional policy to cooperate with the extremist group, laying the groundwork for Russia’s official commitments to cooperation. Simultaneously, Taliban authorities have continually prohibited Afghan women, including U.N. staff, from entering U.N. offices and compounds as a means of removing women from public service and civil society. This worsens the troubled socioeconomic conditions in the country, inhibiting the U.N.’s ability to function properly and thus causing interference with humanitarian work.
Russia’s recognition and partnership with the Taliban undermines pressure from the international community on the Taliban to respect human rights and open their social and political spaces to women, reinforcing the ongoing gender apartheid. It may likewise encourage other extremist groups in the region to act similarly: to use violence in order to seize power and secure legitimacy in the international arena. With International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants out for Taliban leaders who have committed gender-based crimes, Russian actions undermine international structures and send a clear message about their intentions and values. Peace and humanitarian action will not come through cooperation with extremist groups imposing violations against civilians, but will rather establish a status quo for further violation and confidence in criminal behavior.
