A devastating earthquake has struck Afghanistan, killing thousands. As the country mourns and rebuilds, the Taliban is still trying to erase women and girls from public life. Tragedy makes protecting those most vulnerable more, not less, urgent. In just days, we’ll deliver over 330,000 signatures to global leaders – calling on them to live up to their promise of holding the Taliban accountable for relentless women's rights violations. Will you add your name to get to half a million before we hand the petition in?
Here’s an email we sent you recently with more details about the campaign:
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The Taliban is trying to erase Afghan women. Imagine not being allowed to talk, laugh or sing. Imagine being a prisoner in your own home. Imagine being tortured as life passes you by. That’s the reality of millions of women and girls – so last year a group of countries vowed to hold Afghanistan accountable, possibly even at the world’s top court. But a year later, any visible progress and justice feel far off. Let’s tell leaders to make good on their promise – stand with Afghan women’s brave resistance!
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Dear friend,
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“If we can't speak, why live?” said Shabana*, a teenage girl whose dream of going to business school was shattered under the Taliban’s rule.
Shabana should be graduating high school, going out with her friends, and applying for college while dreaming about limitless opportunities. Instead she, like millions of women and girls in Afghanistan, is trapped under the crushing Taliban regime – isolated from the outside world. Many are scared to speak, sing, or even laugh. Their very essence is under attack.
This isn’t just immoral – it’s illegal.
That’s why last year four countries announced steps to confront Afghanistan, which could land it before the world’s top court. But one year on, women and girls need urgent action and still haven’t seen justice served.
Sign and share now – then we’ll take our voices straight to decision-makers in Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands so they know we remember their promise!
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“We’re like dead bodies moving around,” added Shabana, who is even afraid to talk to her friends on the bus.
Nowhere else in the world do women and girls face such relentless attacks on their rights and lives as in Afghanistan, simply because of their gender. It is the only country that has banned girls from secondary and higher education – forcing them to risk their lives attending secret schools or forgo education entirely. Women and girls are also banned from being heard outside the home, and their faces cannot be shown in public spaces. Despite everything, Afghan women and girls are resisting – though protests are frequently violently subdued.
But guess what? Trying to erase an entire gender is against the law!
So let’s demand action from Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands on the one year anniversary of their promise to hold the Taliban accountable, including through a potential case before the International Court of Justice. Add your name now!
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In 2024 nearly a million of us supported South Africa’s historic genocide lawsuit against Israel. We will continue to fight for justice for victims of human rights abuses, from Afghanistan and Gaza to Sudan and Ukraine, by urging our leaders to put perpetrators on trial.
With hope and determination,
Ruth, Sarah, Miguel, Nate, Nadia, Mo, and the entire team at Avaaz
*Shabana is a pseudonym. The woman pictured is not Shabana.
Photo Credit: UNICEF/Osman Khayyam
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