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The Hazaras: An Overlooked Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
In a world overwhelmed by ongoing global humanitarian crises, the suffering of the Hazaras remains largely invisible to many. The ethno-religious group native to Central Asia has faced systematic persecution, targeted violence, and mass killings for over two centuries, making it one of the most persecuted groups in Afghanistan. The Hazaras have been repeatedly targeted by a range of regimes and nonstate actors, including the country’s current de facto rulers, the Taliban.
This spotlight piece is meant to bring attention to their plight and will be followed by a New Lines Institute investigative report on the historic and ongoing genocide against the Hazaras, set to be published in the coming months.
Who Are the Hazaras?
The Hazaras are concentrated primarily in Afghanistan, where they make up about 20% of the population. Of their global population of 14 million, 8 million to 10 million live in Afghanistan. Historical migration, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing have pushed smaller populations of Hazaras into Iran and Pakistan, with diaspora groups distributed throughout the Western world.
Historically, the Hazaras were highland farmers and seminomadic people living in the rugged mountainous regions of central Afghanistan. They built fortified villages of flat-roofed homes and practiced subsistence farming under a feudal system before the 1880s. The Hazaras maintained control over the Hazaristan region in central Afghanistan until that time, when the central government in Kabul forcibly revoked their autonomy.
Hazaras are often characterized by their distinct Asiatic features, their use of Hazaragi (a dialect of Farsi), and their predominantly Shia Muslim faith – factors that have long set them apart from other major ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Their religious and ethnic identity has made them the target of persistent sectarian and state-sponsored violence and political scapegoating, especially in Afghanistan, where Sunni Islam dominates.
In the 19th century, during a brutal campaign led by Abdur Rahman Khan, the emir of Kabul, more than half of the Hazara population was massacred. Ever since, they have endured mass killings, discrimination, and marginalization, and have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture, forced conversion from Shia to Sunni Islam, sexual violence, and systematic displacement at the hands of a succession of Afghan rulers.
The Taliban’s Influence and Continued Persecution
In August 2021, the Taliban took control of the country, becoming its de facto rulers after internationally backed President Ashraf Ghani fled amid the withdrawal of NATO and U.S. troops. The legitimacy of the Taliban government is not internationally recognized, and U.N. travel bans and sanctions targeting Taliban leaders have been entirely ineffective in stopping human rights violations in the country.
The Taliban, who enforces a harsh interpretation of Sharia, impose draconian restrictions on women and girls. Their rule is marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, widespread gender-based violence, unlawful killings, obstruction of humanitarian aid, and public executions. To top it off, they have denied entry to the U.N. special rapporteur on Afghanistan.
Women and girls, specifically, face sweeping restrictions under Taliban rule, including bans on secondary and higher education; access to gyms, parks, public baths, and other public spaces; participation in sports and media; most public-sector employment; and work with nongovernmental organizations. They are also prohibited from traveling without a male guardian, speaking publicly, or driving, and they must wear full-body coverings. Naturally, they are banned from protesting any of these conditions.
The U.N. has hesitated (with lots of “may amount tos”) to officially call the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls what it is: gender apartheid.
Triple Persecution for Hazara Women and Girls
Since the Taliban takeover, Shia-Hazaras have faced escalating violence affecting places of worship, schools, workplaces, and daily life. They are excluded from the Taliban’s government and are subjected to systemic economic marginalization and widespread religious discrimination. Terrorist attacks and mass killings targeting the community have become more commonplace. In the three years since the Taliban reassumed power, at least 61 attacks against Hazaras have been documented. Of these, Taliban forces committed 12, with 16 by the Islamic State/Daesh. The perpetrators of the rest remain unknown. The Taliban have forcibly displaced an estimated 25,000 Hazaras during this time.
Hazara women and girls exist at a triple axis of persecution of their ethnic identity, religious affiliation, and gender. Attacks under the Taliban have deliberately targeted women and symbols of womanhood; in September 2022, 54 women, most of whom were Hazara, were killed in the bombing of the Kaaj Education Center. In May 2020, 24 Hazara women (including pregnant women and newborns) were slaughtered in an attack on the a maternity ward in Dasht-e Barchi.
Gaining International Attention & Support
Finally in 2025 the plight of the Hazara people is beginning to receive some international attention. As part of the U.N. Human Rights Council meetings in June, New Lines Institute participated in the event called Triple Persecution: Hazara Women at the Crossroads of Gender, Ethnic, and Religious Persecution in Afghanistan, sharing details of our forthcoming report that presents a rigorous legal and archival analysis of the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Hazara people.
This powerful and action-oriented event centered local voices while demanding concrete measures, safeguards, and, most critically, long-overdue recognition of the Hazaras’ suffering. Participants demanded decisive action from member states and the United Nations, but the event’s overarching theme was the urgent need for acknowledgement. The emphasis was on raising awareness, validating the Hazara experience, facilitating their access to refugee protections, and ensuring widespread understanding of the ongoing and persistent injustices against them.
To learn more about the Hazara, check out these resources, and stay tuned for New Lines’ report in the fall.
Resources:
The Afghan State and the Hazara Genocide
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not an official policy or position of New Lines Institute.