As the UN General Assembly convenes this September, the stakes for Afghan women and girls could not be higher. For over four years, they have lived under a system of gender apartheid imposed by the Taliban. To remain silent, or worse, to normalize the Taliban's rule, would be to legitimize one of the most brutal systems of oppression against women and girls.

This is the moment for UN member states to act with urgency, to refuse recognition of the Taliban, and to ensure that gender apartheid is named and codified as a crime against humanity.

The truth - cold, hard, buried beneath diplomatic language-is that Afghanistan has become a living prison for women and girls. Here’s a list of just some of the over 150 edicts:

This is not just oppression or discrimination. This is gender apartheid. This must be stopped.

We're asking you to sign this urgent petition to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and Annalena Baerbock, the new President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ms. Baerbock has previously spoken out on Afghan women's rights. But now she's in a position of real power. And we want her to call it what it is - gender apartheid.

She has said she wants her presidency to focus on unity— "Better Together."

But no amount of international "togetherness" can include a regime that has issued over 150 edicts, controlling and limiting all aspects of women's and girls' lives.

There is no rule of law in Afghanistan. The Taliban's so-called justice system delivers punishments on the spot, without due process or defense. Public floggings are routine, and executions are carried out in parks, stadiums, and on the streets for all to see.  There can be no compromise with gender apartheid.

This year alone, Richard Bennett, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, has issued two landmark reports that lay bare the Taliban's systematic abuses. The first report studied the Taliban's law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice, and the second report on access to justice and protection for women and girls.

Both reports document egregious violations - ranging from the denial of women's education and employment, to arbitrary arrests, torture, lack of access to justice, and the enforcement of gender apartheid. Together, they provide undeniable evidence that the Taliban's actions are not isolated incidents but a deliberate, coordinated strategy to erase Afghan women and dismantle fundamental freedoms. The Special Rapporteur has also called it gender apartheid. His findings reinforce the urgent need for the international community, especially the UN, to act, to hold the Taliban accountable, and to ensure Afghan women's voices are not silenced.

Sign the petition now

Tell the UN: Do Not Recognize the Taliban - Codify Gender Apartheid and Make it a Crime Against Humanity

Your signature matters now more than ever, as the UN General Assembly meets to decide on critical global issues - including the many issues concerning Afghanistan.

Why Now

The UN General Assembly convenes September 9th-23rd. This is our moment.

Because behind the scenes, some countries - including Russia, which has officially recognized the Taliban regime and exchanged diplomats- are normalizing the Taliban. So far, only a handful of countries have normalized relations with the Taliban. If this continues, the Taliban could even be seated in Afghanistan's UN seat.

We cannot -we must not--let that happen.

Recognizing gender apartheid as a crime against humanity won't just protect Afghan women. It will set a precedent to protect women worldwide. 

What Your Feminist Majority Has Done - And Will Keep Doing

For over two decades, the Feminist Majority Foundation has stood with Afghan women. We helped evacuate students and activists. We advocated for increased aid and shelter to Afghan women and girls. We exposed the Taliban's cruel laws. We most recently urged the United Nations to set a global standard to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

We've never stopped. But we can't do this alone. We need your voice. We need your name.

Sign the petition today. Share it with your friends and family. Spread it.

The world must stand with Afghan women.

With determination and solidarity,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Director
Feminist Majority Foundation