Since then survivors spend their days digging through rubble looking for the bodies of family members and digging mass graves for the thousands of victims. People are reeling from losing their entire families who were crushed to death in their homes. Zaher, a 56 year old father, told CNN how he lost 13 family members. […]
Afghan Refugees in Pakistan Face the Risk of Deportation and Human Rights Abuses
The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern over Pakistan’s plan to deport undocumented Afghan refugees on November 1st. This will disproportionately affect more than a million Afghans who moved to Pakistan for safety. The plan for mass deportation was announced earlier this month, after which, 59,780 individuals left […]
Poll Reveals Majority of Americans Support Upholding the “Pledge” to Afghan Allies. Afghan Allies Remain in Limbo With Thousands Still Awaiting Evacuation.
A new poll conducted in early October by With Honor Action and Ipsos found that 89% of Americans said they support keeping our pledge to Afghans who helped U.S. forces against the Taliban, with 56% of Americans “strongly” supporting the claim. 92% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans agreed, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for our […]
Afghan Women Oppose the Recognition of the Taliban. It Demonstrates the Deteriorating Conditions for Women in Afghanistan.
In a United Nations (UN) report released in September, UN Women, IOM and UNAMA interviewed 592 Afghan women from 22 of 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The study aimed at understanding priorities, views of international engagement, and recommendations to improve women’s rights and well-being. The findings illustrate just how untenable life in Afghanistan has become for […]
Japan Promises the Taliban to Expand Their Relations with the International Community Despite the Taliban’s Horrific Treatment of Women and Girls
During his farewell meeting, the outgoing Ambassador of Japan to Afghanistan, Takashi Okada, highlighted Japan’s efforts to expand the Taliban’s relations with the global community and the provision of humanitarian assistance in the wake of the recent earthquake in Herat. Japan has historically maintained full diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and continues to do so. The […]
Pakistan Threatens to Deport All Afghan Refugees, Violating Refugee Rights and Putting Afghans at High Risk
Last week, Pakistan ordered all “illegal” migrants to leave the country, leaving millions, including long-term residents with valid documents, vulnerable to being returned to Afghanistan. According to Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, “illegal” Afghan migrants are those without Proof of Registration (PoR) cards or expired Afghan Citizen cards (ACC) issued by the Pakistani government. The […]
Taliban Threatens to Cut Ties With Afghanistan’s Embassies Abroad
Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions abroad are grappling with financial and administrative issues, as well as pressure from the Taliban, and potential solutions include international assistance, negotiation, building internal legitimacy, coordination with international bodies, and support from the Afghan diaspora. The Taliban suspended consular services at the Afghan embassies of London and Vienna, alleging “lack of transparency […]
Devastation from Earthquakes in Afghanistan Strikes an Already-Shaky Foundation
Authorities have confirmed over 2000 casualties following a devastating earthquake that hit northwestern Afghanistan’s Herat province. Two 6.3-magnitude earthquakes hit several districts on Saturday, followed by 7 tremors, causing mud-brick homes to collapse. Thousands of people have since been sleeping outside in freezing temperatures to protect themselves from aftershocks that could destroy their homes. Several […]
Solutions Lagging Behind the Urgency: United Nations Addressed Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
Recently, the United Nations Security Council met to discuss the issue of gender apartheid in Afghanistan and compel the Taliban to stop policies of gender apartheid. Issues of human rights and women’s rights are fading from the global landscape’s attention. It is more important than ever to continue to fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan […]
China’s Ambassador to Afghanistan as a Catalyst to Slippery Slope of International Recognition for Taliban
Recently, China announced its new ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing, who presented himself at a lavish ceremony in Kabul last week. He is the first foreign envoy to occupy an ambassador position since the Taliban took power in August 2021. The Taliban has not been officially recognized by any government, but they celebrated this moment […]
Human Rights Crimes Against Former Government Officials Further Solidifies Taliban’s Grip of Power on Afghanistan
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released a report recently calling attention to several instances of human rights violations by the Taliban against former government officials across 34 different provinces in the country, with the greatest occurring in Kabul. To date, there have been at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture […]
“Immeasurably Cruel” Oppression of Afghan Women and a Further Collapse of Human Rights
The United Nations Rights Chief accused the Taliban of a “shocking level of oppression” of women and girls, and said that more broadly, human rights in the country were in “collapse.” The observation and fulfillment of human rights in Afghanistan has been in steady decline since the takeover of the government by the Taliban in […]
What is “Freedom” to the Taliban? The Taliban’s Constricted Vision for Afghanistan’s Future.
The Taliban has remained firm and doubled down on its vision for the future of Afghanistan. Since its takeover of the Afghan government 2 years ago, it established a de facto government, composed of different ministries to impose their interpretation of an “Islamic” rule and rollback the achievements of the former government. The Taliban has […]
Mexico’s Supreme Court just decriminalized abortion nationwide – but the fight’s not over yet
Mexico’s highest court unanimously ruled that previous laws banning abortion were unconstitutional and breached human rights. On Wednesday, the court “resolved that the legal system that criminalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, as it violates the human rights of women and the capacity to gestate.” In the press release, the Supreme Court […]
Ethnic and Religious Minorities Face Systemic Discrimination Under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s rise to power in 2021 raised concerns about their treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in the country, who had been persecuted during the first Taliban regime. Shi’ite Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and other religious minorities suffer systemic discrimination under Taliban rule. In the 1980s, there were around 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs across the […]
The Costly Price of Gender Apartheid: Afghanistan’s Brain Drain in the Face of Taliban Rule
Afghanistan faces a bleak future as the Taliban’s oppressive regime takes hold, exacerbating the country’s brain drain crisis, with educated Afghans seeking safety elsewhere, leaving behind a fractured society struggling to retain its intellectual capital. Many Afghans have sooner or later come to realize that the Taliban’s empty promises of a reformed leadership were crafted […]
A Lack of Strategy for US Foreign Policy in Afghanistan Means an Uncertain Future for Both Countries
Since its withdrawal from the country in August 2021 and the return of the Taliban, the US has lacked a comprehensive foreign policy strategy for Afghanistan. This sentiment has been made especially clear in the meeting that State Department representatives attended in Doha to negotiate with Taliban representatives. This was the first known meeting between […]
Afghan Girls Above Age 10 are Barred from Primary Schools in Afghanistan, Casting a Shadow on Education
Girls over the age of 10 have been banned from attending primary school in Afghanistan in the latest edict issued by the Taliban-led Ministry of Education. Taliban leaders met with school principals in certain provinces and told them strictly that “any girl over 10 years of age is not allowed to study in primary schools.” […]
Unveiling Tyranny: Taliban’s Decree restricts women’s movement & Deepens Gender Apartheid
In its latest decree, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated that women must observe the full “hijab” in order to ride in taxi vehicles. The decree not only targets Afghan women, but penalizes male guardians of women who defy the Taliban’s policing of women’s lives and face punishment […]
Amnesty Denied for Prosecutors Marks a Growing Threat to Afghanistan’s Judicial System
In response to a recent claim by Taliban officials that there are no threats against prosecutors or judges in Afghanistan, the International Organization for Transitional Justice and Peace (ITJP) has released a statement outlining the very real threat that members of the justice system face. In the statement, ITJP disputes the claim made by the […]
