According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the treatment of women in Afghanistan by the radical Islamic Taliban is to be classified as persecution and can therefore justify recognition as a refugee. When examining the individual asylum application of an Afghan woman, it is therefore sufficient for an EU country to only consider her gender and nationality. This was announced by the ECJ in a press release dated 4.10.2024.
The ruling relates to two Afghan women who were denied refugee status in Austria and had filed a lawsuit against this. The Austrian Administrative Court had referred the case to the ECJ for consultation.
According to the ECJ, the discriminatory measures that the Taliban regime has imposed on women since taking power in Afghanistan in 2021 must be classified as persecution, both individually and as a whole. In particular, the court refers to forced marriage, which is equivalent to a form of slavery, and the lack of protection against gender-based and domestic violence, which constitute forms of inhuman and degrading treatment. Other measures mentioned by the ECJ include the obligation to completely cover the body and face, as well as restricted access to healthcare facilities. Finally, the ECJ also lists restrictions on freedom of movement, employment and access to education and exclusion from political life as discriminatory measures. According to the Court‘s ruling, the competent authorities of the Member States can assume that it is not necessary to establish that an applicant is actually and individually at risk of persecution if she returns to her country of origin. It is sufficient to consider only her nationality and gender.
When tuenews INTERNATIONAL asked the press office of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) what consequences are to be expected from this ruling for the handling of asylum applications from Afghan women and girls in Germany, a spokeswoman explained: “The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has taken note of the ruling of the European Court of Justice and will examine the consequences of the ruling for the decision-making practice of the Federal Office. This examination has not yet been completed.“ For its part, the ECJ pointed out that its decision is equally binding on other national courts in the EU if they have to rule on comparable issues.
To the press release of the ECJ: ECJ | Press release
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