Asylum service grants Afghan woman protection after report details Taliban restrictions
The Netherlands’ Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) granted asylum on December 22 to a 32-year-old Afghan woman and her children after a new government report detailed worsening conditions for women in Afghanistan, Trouw reports.
The decision comes ahead of a Council of State hearing on February 3, 2026, which will examine whether Afghan women in the Netherlands can be recognized as refugees automatically, without individual assessments, because of the risks they face under Taliban rule.
The report, issued by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 16, 2025, stated that Afghan women face severe restrictions. They are prohibited from speaking publicly, even from home, and cannot make eye contact with men outside their family.
Women must cover their head, face, and body when leaving the house and cannot travel without a male companion. The ministry noted that some women saw no other option but suicide, and the introduction of the 2024 “moral law” further restricted their freedom of movement.
The new report replaces a 2023 report that predated the moral law and arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in July 2025 against two Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity targeting girls and women.
Last fall, the IND had considered returning at least four Afghan women to Afghanistan. The IND argued that these women could comply with Taliban rules because they previously stayed mostly at home, performed household tasks, and were not “Westernized.” The agency said such cases were exceptions, noting that most asylum applications from Afghan women are accepted.
For the 32-year-old woman, the new report influenced the IND’s decision. An IND spokesperson said the report “stating that the situation for women in Afghanistan has worsened further” played a role in granting asylum to her and her children. No new decisions have yet been made for the other three women.
Judges in Haarlem and Middelburg have ruled that the IND and Minister of Asylum and Migration David van Weel (VVD) misinterpreted a European Court of Justice decision from late 2024. That ruling determined that discrimination against women in Afghanistan constitutes persecution, meaning being a woman from Afghanistan should be sufficient grounds for refugee status.
The IND and the minister maintain that individual assessments are still possible and plan to pursue a ruling from the Council of State to clarify the interpretation of the EU court decision and whether any women can still be returned to Afghanistan.
