A United Nations (U.N.) report released last month exposes the Taliban’s brutal gender-based system of discrimination, exclusion and oppression against Afghan women and girls.
The Taliban’s relentless issuance of over 100 edicts since August 2021 when they seized power in Afghanistan has decimated women’s rights, restricting their access to education, employment and basic freedoms, including freedom of movement. Women and girls are not free to travel alone and are not able to leave their homes without a close male family member and only when “absolutely” necessary. Afghan women are excluded politically, educationally, socially and even culturally. These are crimes against humanity, and we must not—and will not—let the world ignore this horrid assault on women and girls.
Afghan women and girls have fought hard for their rights. They continue to fight despite the risks to their lives. Many have been killed or disappeared. Some in their despair worry that the world has forgotten them.
The Ms. community must demonstrate that we care deeply about the women and girls of Afghanistan.
Take Action
We must make sure this powerfully written and thoroughly researched U.N. report does not gather dust. It must be acted on—immediately. And it’s up to each of us to make sure gender apartheid’s horrors are not swept under the rug and repeated elsewhere in the world.
- Read the recent U.N. Report on the Taliban Gender Apartheid.
- Send an emergency action email urging the U.S. and U.N. to continue their non-recognition of the Taliban until they end gender apartheid and their crimes against humanity.
- Share this petition with your friends and colleagues and alert them to the brutality of this war of oppression against Afghan women and girls.
U.N. Report Highlights
- Systematic oppression: The Taliban has institutionalized gender apartheid, erasing women and girls from all public and private spheres of life.
- Violence and abuse: Afghan women face severe punishments, including stoning, floggings, beatings, detention and disappearances for defying the Taliban’s oppressive laws.
- Health crisis: Psychological distress and restricted healthcare access are rampant among Afghan women and girls, leading to increased depression and suicide.
- Crimes against humanity: The Taliban’s actions constitute gender persecution, murder, torture and rape, demanding immediate international intervention.
- The Taliban’s demand of excluding Afghan women and the issue of women’s rights from any meeting is unacceptable, especially in meetings of the U.N. and Special Envoys for Afghanistan.
Feminists’ Demands
Feminists demand the U.N. reject the Taliban’s conditions and prioritize the situation of human rights and women’s rights.
- End gender apartheid: Recognize and eliminate the Taliban’s gender-based oppression. Ignoring the plight of Afghan women emboldens the Taliban and undermines global human rights standards. This fight transcends Afghanistan’s borders and affects us all. The U.N. must outlaw gender apartheid internationally and deny the Taliban international recognition until it ends its brutal system.
- Non-negotiable inclusion of women: Ensure Afghan women are present in all decision-making processes concerning Afghanistan.
- Lead with principles of human rights: Make gender equality central in all engagements with the Taliban.
- Lead by example: The international community must integrate Afghan women into all socio-economic-political discussions with the Taliban.
So far, no country has officially recognized the Taliban regime, but over a dozen have exchanged diplomats and officials with the Taliban de facto authorities.
Since the Taliban returned, poverty has been at its peak. Of its 40 million people, some 20 million Afghans are experiencing dire hunger due to high unemployment rates, extreme drought, and women not being allowed by the Taliban to earn a living. Suicide rates and mental health crises have skyrocketed, mostly affecting women and young girls who are not allowed to seek education beyond sixth grade or leave their homes.
We must stand in solidarity with Afghan women and girls and not allow the normalization of the Taliban—or even worse, to allow the recognition of the Taliban regime—that will continue its crimes against women and girls and serve as role models to terrorist groups around the world.
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