The movement for the rights and freedom of Afghan women and girls is picking up momentum in the halls of the United Nations. Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and other feminist civil society leaders and activists are currently engaged in the historic process of negotiations for a crimes against humanity treaty, which will provide a formal mechanism for recognizing, codifying, and holding perpetrators accountable for a suite of atrocities that have fallen through the gaps of existing international laws for decades. Crucially, the negotiations for this treaty provide a window for feminists to ensure that all forms of gender-based persecution are defined, recognized, and punished for what they are: global atrocities and systematic violence permeating all levels of society.
On July 28, the UN released an updated version of the draft articles, which includes amendments and additions that ensure gender apartheid is recognized throughout the text. On June 4, Australia, Afghanistan (UN mission), Iceland, Mexico, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, and Spain agreed to include gender apartheid in their amendments; the draft released in July reflects these commitments in writing. These 7 states join Austria, Portugal, Malta, Philippines, Chile, Brazil and Luxembourg as champions in the global fight for the rights and dignity of Afghan women and girls living under the oppressive Taliban regime.
There were also multiple additions and amendments to include forced marriage as its own category, put forward by several states: Canada, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, Germany, Belgium, Colombia, the UK, Andorra, Cyprus, Ukraine, and Poland, in addition to states also proposing to include gender apartheid. This same group of states, in addition to the Nordic states, also proposed to expand the definition of sexual violence to cover specific types of reproductive violence, like forced sterilization and forced birth.
The show of support by some states for forced marriage and reproductive violence, while stopping short of “gender apartheid,” presents an opportunity for feminist organizations to keep advocating for the full breadth of gender-based oppression to be appropriately recognized by the UN. At FMF, we call on these states to embrace this fight to the fullest extent. The totality of Afghan women and girls’ oppression needs to be unequivocally condemned by the international community in all its forms.
FMF will continue to push for full recognition of gender apartheid as the UN continues the long process of creating a new legal instrument for identifying and punishing crimes against humanity. FMF’s advocacy on this issue draws from the real voices and leadership of women and girls in Afghanistan, and we echo their calls for a refusal to recognize or normalize the Taliban.
Countries that have demonstrated solidarity and leadership in this urgent fight for humanity and freedom are setting an important example. This is a critical moment to engage more partners and representatives at the UN and beyond, build on this momentum, and advance a Crimes Against Humanity Convention that recognizes gender apartheid and accurately reflects the voices, experiences, and lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.