Human Rights Watch, the largest human rights organization based in the United States, released a new report this week further documenting human rights abuses against women in Afghanistan and urging that women’s human rights be restored during the reconstruction of post-Taliban Afghanistan. “The Taliban have sought to erase women from public life through widespread discrimination,” said LaShawn Jefferson, Executive Director of the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. “Any political solution in Afghanistan must not bargain away accountability for this systematic violence and discrimination.”
The report, “Humanity Denied: Systematic Violations of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan,” details the stories of Afghan women living under the Taliban’s horrific system of gender apartheid and urges that more aid be directed toward women for both humanitarian efforts and during the reconstruction process so women can be in decision-making roles. Said Jefferson, “Any future political arrangements in Afghanistan have to take special account of what women have suffered Ð and how that can be remedied.”
The Feminist Majority leads a major campaign aimed at restoring the rights of Afghan women, assuring that women have a role in the reconstruction process, and re-establishing a constitutional democracy in Afghanistan in which women have equal rights. To learn how you can help and to join the Feminist Majority’s Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan, log on to www.HelpAfghanWomen.com.
