"The report highlights almost 24,000 verified grave violations against children, an average of some 65 violations every day. The killing and maiming of children was the most verified grave violation followed by the recruitment and use of children and the denial of humanitarian access.
The places where most children were affected by grave violations in 2021 were Afghanistan, […]."
US DOS, 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Afghanistan, 12 April 2022
“Nonstate and armed groups, primarily the Taliban and ISIS-K, accounted for most child recruitment and used children younger than 12 during the year. Insurgent groups, including the Taliban, used children as suicide bombers. The Children and Armed Conflict Report verified the recruitment and use of 196 boys, of whom 172 were attributed to the Taliban and the remainder to pre-August 15 government or progovernment forces. Children were used in combat, including attacks with IEDs. Nine boys were killed or injured in combat. Insurgent groups, including the Taliban and ISIS-K, used children in direct hostilities, to plant and detonate IEDs, carry weapons, surveil, and guard bases.
The Taliban recruited child soldiers from madrassas in the country and Pakistan that provide military training and religious indoctrination, and it sometimes provided families cash payments or protection in exchange for sending their children to these schools. UNAMA verified the recruitment of 40 boys by the Taliban, the ANP, and progovernment militias half in the first half of the year. In some cases the Taliban and other antigovernment elements used children as suicide bombers, human shields, and to place IEDs, particularly in southern provinces.
Media, NGOs, and UN agencies reported the Taliban tricked children, promised them money, used false religious pretexts, or forced them to become suicide bombers. UNAMA reported the ANDSF and progovernment militias recruited and used 11 children during the first nine months of the year, all for combat purposes. Media reported that local progovernment commanders recruited children younger than age 16. NGOs reported security forces used child soldiers in the practice of bacha bazi.”
Byline Times, ‘The Taliban Protection Racket’, 10 January 2022
“My whole reason for coming here was because the Taliban wanted to recruit me,” Azlan (not his real name) told Byline Times. “They come to your house, and the first time, they ask nicely. But if you don’t agree, then they use force.”
Azlan, who originally comes from a province in northern Afghanistan, told this newspaper that he was beaten three times by the Taliban. He eventually came to the UK via a circuitous route in 2015, leaving shortly after the Taliban kidnapped him in a bid to forcibly recruit him.
“I was there for two days and I told them, I don’t believe in your fight,” he said. “No matter what colour or religion you are, you are human.”
The Taliban beat him so hard that they thought he was dead. Fearing that the next beating would be fatal, his family sent him to Pakistan, Iran, and he then travelled across Europe to the UK.He told Byline Times that the Taliban took his younger brother, who then disappeared in 2016. Rumours circulated that he had died in a bomb blast. His sister also died in a blast. His father died in 2019, leaving just his mother and his youngest brother, who is now 14.
“This is the age when they recruit and I will do anything to save him,” Azlan said. “It’s not that I am afraid he will die, but I don’t believe in this fight.”The Taliban suggested a solution – that the family pay to avoid him being taken. Azlan now works long hours to send his mother money for what is effectively a protection racket – £300 a month. That money, however, raised hopes in the local community, many members of which are near destitute.
A few days ago, the family was raided as local people had heard that they had money. The house was looted and precious family belongings, such as a watch belonging to Azlan’s father, as well as his mother’s jewellery, was taken. His brother was beaten.”
Human Rights Watch, ‘This is our opportunity to end the Taliban’s use of child soldiers’, 20 September 2021
“For more than two decades, the Taliban have put children on the front lines of Afghanistan’s armed conflicts. They have used children as fighters, to plant and detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and as suicide bombers. Thousands of children may remain in their ranks today.”
“The Taliban have denied that they use children in “jihadic operations” and their code of conduct states that “boys without beards” are not allowed in military centers. Nevertheless, the U.N. has verified hundreds of individual cases in which the Taliban have recruited and used children in recent years, including a sharp spike in 2020, and warned that the true figures are likely much higher.”