Afghan women can seek refugee status based on nationality, gender: EU top court

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Friday that nationality and gender are "sufficient" for an EU country to grant asylum to Afghan women, who have seen their rights stifled under Taliban rule.

Since Taliban authorities seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, they have imposed an austere interpretation of Islam and progressively driven women out of public spaces.

Women have borne the brunt of restrictions that the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid".

Friday's ruling comes after Austrian authorities refused recognising the refugee status of two Afghan women, who challenged the decision at the country's Supreme Administrative Court, which referred the case to the EU top court.

The ECJ ruled that discriminatory measures adopted by the Taliban towards women "constitute acts of persecution", which justify the recognition of refugee status.

"The competent authorities of the member states are entitled to consider that it is unnecessary to establish that there is a risk that the applicant will actually and specifically be subject to acts of persecution if she returns to her country of origin," the ECJ ruled.

"It is sufficient to take into account her nationality and gender alone," the court added.

Sweden, Finland and Denmark already grant refugee status to all Afghan women who seek asylum.