EU top court rules Afghan women are a persecuted group

An Afghan woman's gender and nationality can suffice as proof of persecution to receive asylum status, the European Court of Justice has said. The ruling came after Austria rejected refugee status for two Afghan women.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court in the EU, ruled on Friday that women in Afghanistan are subjected  to persecution by the Taliban.

The ruling said that certain discriminatory measures adopted by the Taliban constitute "acts of persecution," citing forced marriage and lack of protection against gender-based violence.

As such, the court sided with two Afghan women in Austria who had argued their status as women under the Taliban regime justified receiving refugee status.