Afghan women and girls must not be forgotten.

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Hi John,


There is so much going on in the world right now. It can feel overwhelming. But what is happening in Afghanistan, a gender apartheid being inflicted on women and girls, is truly shocking.

This Christmas, we need to make sure that women and girls in Afghanistan are not forgotten. Could you stand with them by making a donation today?
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Their lives changed overnight

The moment the Taliban took control in August 2021, the lives of women and girls across Afghanistan changed immeasurably. The huge gains made in women’s rights that had seen millions of girls attend school and university, and women take up 27% of seats in parliament were stripped away overnight.

We recently spoke to Amina*, a women’s rights activist working in Afghanistan, who described how the Taliban have systematically rolled back women’s rights in every area of life:

“Girls cannot receive education right now, other than religious education at the madrassa [religious school]… Most girls and women have been fired from their jobs.

If women are not properly wearing the hijab and the black scarf and the clothes. They’re not even allowed to roam in the bazaar and buy their basic needs.

They banned women and girls from going to parks or to the gym for exercise and denied us access to all entertainment. And we can’t travel to other provinces without a mahram [male relative].”

- Amina*, women’s rights activist in Afghanistan

But the women of Afghanistan are not giving up. They are risking everything to meet and support each other. Using the community networks established by women’s rights organisations over the last 20 years to find ways to survive.

What Womankind is doing to support

In an urgent response to this crisis, Womankind restored its Afghanistan programme (which had ended in 2017).

Since July last year, we have a dedicated Afghan staff member now based in the UK, Maryam Rahmani, Advisor/Advocate: Afghanistan. Through the Afghan programme, we are supporting Afghan women’s rights organisations with funding to ensure their work carries on in whatever form possible.

Can you make a donation this Christmas and show women and girls in Afghanistan that you are standing with them?
Donate to the Afghanistan appeal now ([link removed])

Yours sincerely,

Martina Hoggart
Interim Director of Fundraising & Marketing

*For their own safety we have had to change their names and omit any information that might identify them.
Header image: Protester at 'March for Freedom for Afghan Women and Girls' in London, Nov 2022 (Photo credit: Alamy)

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