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Dear John,
Today, on International Women’s Day, we cannot forget the suffering of Afghan women and girls at the hands of the Taliban. Since the Taliban took power by force on August 15, 2021, it has launched a campaign against women and girls, eliminating them from society. See how the regime has severely restricted women’s education, employment, and mobility. Afghan women and girls cannot attend school past the 6th grade, cannot seek employment, and have been blocked from every opportunity to better their lives.
Afghan women march in protest and carry signs that read 'Work, Education, Freedom - Marching for Freedom', 'I'll sing the song of freedom over and over again', and 'Why the world is watching us silently and cruelly'.
The Taliban’s edicts and treatment of women have led to gross human suffering, including a collapsing economy and 28 million Afghans, mostly women and children in need of humanitarian aid. Six million of them are close to famine.
Since the Taliban takeover, courageous Afghan women have been fighting for their freedom and equality across their country. Some have been thrown in prison and tortured, some are missing, and some have even been killed. But still, the protests go on. Their advocacy demanding fundamental human rights and freedoms has not ceased.
We salute Afghan women and girls’ courage and determination not to back down and continue to build on the progress they had previously made. See some of the Afghan women’s major achievements prior to the Taliban takeover.
We must urge the US and the UN to never recognize the Taliban regime as a legitimate government. Recognition is a critical designation that must not be awarded to a group that has reinstituted gender apartheid.
Since 1997, Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls has worked to call global attention to the gender apartheid of the first Taliban regime and its horrific violations of women’s rights. We must continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with these brave women and girls and do all we can to amplify their voices.
The Taliban has once again re-instituted gender apartheid and has created a system in which women are systematically treated as less than human. We cannot ignore this treatment of women and girls.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans women and girls from education and employment. The Afghan people are not accepting this, and we must not either.
On this International Women’s Day, stand in solidarity with Afghan women and girls and support them in their fight for basic human rights and freedoms. We must not stay silent!
Sign up to stay updated as our campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan continues.
In solidarity,
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