Led by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 13 U.S. senators joined in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell urging the U.S. to immediately send $30 million in emergency relief funds to aid the hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, primarily women and children, who have fled their homes to escape the brutal rule of […]
Special Issue of Elle Magazine Focuses on Women in Afghanistan
The most recent issue of the French women’s magazine Elle is completely devoted to covering the women of Afghanistan, the abuses they suffer under the ruling Taliban regime, and the dehumanization they endure. The cover of the fashion magazine shows an Afghan woman, completely covered in the traditional burqa, with a thick piece of mesh […]
UN to Increase Appeal for Aid to Afghanistan
The United Nations (UN) has decided to revise it’s appeal for 2001 far beyond the $250 million it earlier requested to aid the hundreds of thousands of starving, displaced people in Afghanistan after examining the country’s current humanitarian crisis. The original $250 million appeal was mainly for programs within Afghanistan and did not include funds […]
U.S. Officials Visit Afghanistan to Assess Humanitarian Need
Breaking from its ban prohibiting officials from traveling to Afghanistan, the U.S. sent three representatives, two from the State Department’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and one from the U.S. Embassy, on a humanitarian mission to Afghanistan to view the devastation, starvation and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The three are traveling with the World Food […]
Crisis in Afghanistan Deepens
One million people are at risk for famine in Afghanistan and millions more are in the most desperate poverty imaginable, according to the United Nations. The Taliban’s barbaric rule, the most severe drought in decades, sub-zero winter temperatures, military incursions which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and a lack of humanitarian aid have […]
UNHCR May Send 1.5 Million Refugees Back to Afghanistan, Despite Gender Apartheid
The new head of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees Ruund Lubbers announced possible plans to return 1.5 million refugees to Afghanistan. Lubber intends to negoiate with the Taliban and provide the militia with assistance as part of the plan. Paradoxically, Lubber claims that many of the people who have fled Afghanistan may no […]
Taliban Demand Woman BBC Correspondent Leave Afghanistan
Taliban Annihilate 5th Century Buddhist Statues Taliban officials announced today their complete destruction of two ancient giant Buddhist statues. Following the announcement, Taliban officials ordered “the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to remove its correspondent Kate Clark from the country within 24 hours.” Kate Clark has served as a BBC reporter in Afghanistan since 1998 and […]
Dire Situation in Afghanistan Finally Reaches US National Press
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and other women’s right groups have covered the situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban militia took control of the country in 1996 and imposed brutal gender apartheid on the women and girls of Afghanistan. FMF has also covered the effects of the worst drought to hit the country in 30 […]
Women’s Alliance for Peace Makes Appeal for Help for Afghanistan
The Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan (WAPHA) has made an international appeal for help and humanitarian aid for Afghan refugees who have fled the brutal Taliban regime and the region’s worst drought. According to reports from the UN and the World Food Program, the drought in Afghanistan has left one million […]
Afghanistan Among “Worst of Worst” Countries on Human Rights
Afghanistan was rated among the 11 worst countries in terms of democracy and human rights according to a new report by the non-partisan, moderate Freedom House. Afghanistan was listed among the 11 worst nations “in which citizens are denied a broad range of the most basic freedoms,” along with Burma, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmentistan. The […]
Leadership Alliances Organize to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
The Brandeis University Leadership Alliance organized a presentation on the Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan to a group of over one hundred high school students. Inspired by the presentation, many of the students are now participating in the Back-to-School program and working with Brandeis to establish a Mentoring Program. Good work! Congratulations to […]
Afghanistan – One of the 3 Hungriest Nations In The World
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released finding that rank Afghanistan as one of the three hungriest nations in the world, along with Somali and Haiti. The FAO found that 70% of the Afghan population is undernourished, living without 26% of their basic food requirements. The Taliban’s oppressive system of gender apartheid […]
Taliban Announces Rules For United Nations Aid To Afghanistan
Taliban officials have drafted rules stating that the United Nations must base its humanitarian relief efforts in the capital city of Kabul, use the Afghan banking system for financial transactions and allow the Taliban to vet all staff. The United Nations has warned the rules, following the July 5 edict banning foreign agencies to employ […]
U.N. Aid Workers Among 12 Killed in Afghanistan
Gunmen in Afghanistan shot and killed 12 people on August 5th, including seven Afghan aid workers employed at the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation. Ravaged by decades of war, Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. There are an estimated 10 million landmines in Afghanistan. “In the capital, […]
Taliban Holds Public Execution in Afghanistan
In Kabul this past weekend, a crowd of thousands watched the first public execution in Afghanistan since an Afghan woman was stoned to death in May for adultery. The brother of one of the killer’s victims was able to cut the man’s throat because it follows the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law where a […]
Worst Drought in 30 Years Ravages Afghanistan
Between three and four million people in Afghanistan may starve as a result of severe drought, according to the United Nations World Food Program. The drought comes at a time when people in Afghanistan are suffering from civil war, a devastated economy, and the oppressive aggression of the Taliban regime. Earlier this week the World […]
Taliban Orders Relief Worker to Leave Afghanistan
With the arrest of relief worker Mary MacMakin on July 11 and her deportation ordered by the Taliban on July 12, non-governmential aid organizations in Afghanistan are working in a tense atmosphere. A survey of the 40 international aid organizations in Kabul conducted yesterday revealed that their Afghan women employees had not gone to work, […]
UN report cites continued violations against the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan
UN report cites continued violations against the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. This week United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented his most recent report on the situation in Afghanistan to the U.N. Security Council, citing the ongoing systematic violations of human rights committed by the Taliban regime. Annan reported, “Despite some limited improvements, […]
Fundraiser: Walk for the Women of Afghanistan
Illinois Wesleyan University recently hosted a Walk for the Women of Afghanistan. Thirty people participate in the walk, raising $600 for the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. For more information, contact a Field Representative or Ossai Miazad at FMF’s Arlington, VA office, (703) 522-2214.
Support for the Women of Afghanistan
The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance at Iowa State University recently held a showing of “Shroud of Silence,” the video depicting the lives of Afghani women living under the Taliban regime. There were about 110 people in attendance, with an introduction by Political Science Professor Maryann Fertault.
