A coalition of 30 organizations, both from within and outside Afghanistan, dedicated to advocating for women’s rights, has issued a call for international support for women, specifically, for the challenges faced by them in the country.
Named “No for Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan,” the group, in a statement, urged global solidarity with the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan and efforts to forestall the recognition of the Taliban.
The statement appealed to the international community to safeguard the aspirations of Afghan women and to pressure the Taliban to disband the Ministry of Vice and Virtue. It highlighted the critical need for international backing in securing the release of human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists, and former military officials from the nation’s previous government.
Moreover, the statement pointed out the severe gender discrimination encountered by Afghan women, who make up half of the country’s population, since the Taliban’s return to power.
This comes as the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, reported a continuing deterioration in the human rights situation in Afghanistan, with women and girls being “erased from public life.”
In his recent report, which he presented to the UN Human Right Council’s 55th session; Bennett stated that the Taliban does not tolerate peaceful dissent and uses violence and the threat thereof to control and instill fear among the population with impunity.
The report covers the human rights situation in Afghanistan from September 2023 to January 2024.
