The Court of Justice of the European Union released its judgement in Joined Cases C-608/22 and C-609/22 regarding two women with Afghan nationality who challenged the refusal by the Austrian authorities to recognise their refugee status while they claimed that the situation of women under the new Taliban regime alone justifies being granted that status.

First the Court clarified that some of the discriminatory measures to which women are exposed under the Taliban regime must be classified alone as ‘acts of persecution’ because they constitute a serious breach of a fundamental right. This is true of forced marriage, which is comparable to a form of slavery, and the lack of protection against gender-based violence and domestic violence, which constitute forms of inhuman and degrading treatment. The Court considered that the other measures (for example, requiring women to cover their entire body and face, restricting their access to healthcare and freedom of movement, prohibiting them from engaging in gainful employment or limiting the extent to which they can do so, prohibiting their access to education and excluding them from political life) taken as a whole, constitute acts of persecution.

Second, regarding the individual examination of an application for asylum of a woman of Afghan nationality, the Court found that 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. It is sufficient to take into account her nationality and gender alone.

For further details, please read the press release from the Court of Justice of the European Union.