In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s systematic and institutionalized discrimination has reached the level of dehumanization against women and girls. Their rights have not just been stripped away by law, but erased by the policies implemented by the Taliban that limit them exclusively to child-bearers and caretakers, confined within the walls of their homes.
Women’s rights are human rights
The human rights of women and girls, including to education, to employment, to freedom of movement, among others, have been prohibited. Even their voices and faces in public life have been banned and criminalized. The Taliban enforce these restrictions with ruthless control, rendering women to invisible shadows in their own homes and communities.
Three years have passed, and the course of every woman’s life in Afghanistan has been irreversibly altered. A generation of girls has been robbed of their future, and women have been forced back into a fight for their human rights. The consequences will echo for decades. I often ask, where is the rage? Why are feminist movements not rising in protest?
On this International Women’s Day, are we truly prepared to let this stand? Because if we are, we are permitting a dangerous precedent for women everywhere.
As we observe International Women’s History Day, I write as a woman from Afghanistan to say that this is not just about us. What is happening to women and girls in Afghanistan is a defining test of the credibility of international law, the global commitment to human rights, the integrity of feminist movements, and our personal morality in upholding human dignity.The world’s response to what is happening will determine not only the fate of Afghanistan but also the future of justice, equality, and human dignity itself.
There must be a global commitment to human rights
I grew up believing international law was established to ensure that power alone does not – and cannot – dictate the course of the world or an individual’s enjoyment of their human rights. I understood that it is built on global commitment to shared legal frameworks recognizing the inherent dignity of all and rejecting a vision of a world where chaos and oppression prevail.
Relying on this principle, people of Afghanistan, particularly women, have turned to international law because the justice system within our own country has been hijacked by tyranny. Women who protest either in the streets or underground face arbitrary arrests, torture, and even death. Thousands of them, along with men who have stood against the Taliban, are now in prisons. Our work in exile to leverage international mechanisms is a reflection of the demands made by our sisters inside the country.
And yet, while women in Afghanistan have their human rights stripped from them, with many imprisoned, we watch as world leaders welcome Taliban officials with diplomatic engagements. Governments continue to send millions of dollars to Afghanistan without accountability for upholding human rights. Talks, such as those led by the United Nations in Doha, take place without clear commitment to core legal and ethical values such as human rights, humanitarian law, and accountability. This has led to a dangerous soft acceptance of the policies and actions of a de facto authority that openly commits crimes against humanity.
When nations—especially powerful ones— ignore their legal obligations and don’t demand others to meet their own, they undermine the very foundation of international law and put themselves at risk, creating a world where justice erodes, and no one is truly safe.
After three years of resistance, we are now witnessing developments in support of women and girls in Afghanistan: some states have announced plans to take a case to the International Court of Justice; the International Criminal Court prosecutor has filed applications for arrest warrants against Taliban leaders; and there is a global movement pushing for the codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity that could create another avenue for accountability. But what often fails us is not our own perseverance, it is the lack of political will and public outcry to match our defiance.
Now that we, women and girls of Afghanistan, have demanded action, the real question remains: what will the world do about it?
Together, we can amplify the resistance of women and girls in Afghanistan
What is the key piece in this puzzle? It’s you! A global movement and solidarity can generate the momentum necessary to push for political will and legal enforcement of international obligations. Civil society, feminist movements, and individuals must amplify the resistance of women of Afghanistan, advocating where they cannot.
The dignity of women in Afghanistan is tied to the dignity of women everywhere. If we allow the injustice faced by women and girls in Afghanistan to stand, we send a message that oppression, including the crime against humanity of gender persecution, can persist without consequence. Political will is not an abstract concept, it is shaped by the voices of people demanding action. By applying grassroots pressure, we can compel politicians to act responsibly.
The atrocities committed by the Taliban should exceed the conceivable threshold for public inaction. If the systematic persecution, and near public erasure, of half a nation’s population does not spark decisive global outrage, then what does that say about our collective commitment to human rights?
Break the Silence
End human rights violations in Afghanistan
This Women’s History Month, we cannot let this moment pass without action
Talk about Afghanistan, share the stories of women, and challenge the narrative that this is merely an “internal matter.”
Contact your elected officials and ask them to take action. Congress can:
- Hold oversight hearings
- Demand the Women, Peace and Security Act and other passed laws be implemented regarding women and girls in Afghanistan
- Legislate reporting requirements for the administration to say what it is doing on the issue
- Provide funding to support women advocating within Afghanistan for their rights
Members of Congress can also speak to Afghan women activists like me who are in exile to learn more about what is needed to support the internal resistance to gender persecution.
There is so much that hasn’t been done in the last three years, as the Taliban tightened its control on women’s lives. But the more voices that rise, the harder it becomes for governments to ignore.
This International Women’s Day must serve as a turning point, a moment where we commit to ensuring that by this time next year, we are not witnessing the continued systematic dehumanization of women in Afghanistan.