Photo by Canada in Afghanistan / Canada en Afghanistan This article is adapted from an opinion piece by Dr. Sima Samar, originally published in Ms. Magazine. Dr. Sima Samar is a human rights advocate and medical doctor who belongs to Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority group. Dr. Samar served as Minister of Women’s Affairs from 2001 to […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation hosts annual Global Women’s Rights Awards
Photo by by Sarah Stierch Earlier this month, in Los Angeles, the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) was joined by some of the most inspiring women’s rights activists who have been on the frontlines of the fight for equality for the 16th annual Global Women’s Rights Awards. Awards were given to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work […]
A new academic year begins in Afghanistan without girls as the Taliban continues to deny their education
Spring is a season that signifies fresh opportunities, growth and hope. This month is also marked with the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th. However, for Afghan women and girls, the reality is very different as they continue to be oppressed by an extreme gender apartheid. In Afghanistan, the school year begins in […]
Afghan women demand that the world listens to them and does not forget them.
As people worldwide reflect on the achievements of women this International Women’s Day, millions of Afghan women and girls are mourning the loss of their basic human rights and freedoms. They call on the world to listen to them and give them a central role in any discussion about their country. Since the Taliban took […]
Afghan Women Judges Targeted by Taliban
Afghan women judges who presided over abuse cases are being threatened by the Taliban. Currently, their lives and the lives of their families are in danger, as members of the Taliban are tracking down and killing women justices for their commitment to gaining justice for women survivors. There are currently more than 200 women judges […]
Attacks on Shia Minorities Increase in Afghanistan
The Taliban intelligence directorate asked school teachers in the Herat province to fill out a form to specify their religious identity, as well as their home address, duty station, and contact information last week. This religious identification requirement caused panic among the Shia minorities living in the Herat province, some of whom strongly opposed the […]
Afghan Women’s Rights Activists Murdered
Last week, bodies of four Afghan women’s activists were discovered in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. One of the victims was identified as Frozan Safi, a 30-year-old activist and private university economics lecturer. According to Safi’s family, she left her home on October 27 after she received an anonymous call asking her to collect her documents because […]
Starving Afghan Families Forced to Sell Their Daughters for Food
A recent CNN video features Afghan families who are unable to afford food at the displacement camps selling their daughters to old men in order to survive. The video shows a nine-year-old, Parwana, who was sold to a man as old as 70, for 200,000 Afghanis, approximately $2,200 on October 22. The incidents took place […]
Afghan Women Protest: “Why is the world watching us die in silence?”
A number of Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday to protest the world’s silence over the current situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. Videos on social media show Afghan women activists gathering at the gates of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul and holding signs which […]
Two Months in, the Taliban Continues to Abandon Girls’ Education
Earlier this week, at a speaking engagement in Doha, the foreign minister of the Taliban, Amir Khan Mottaqi avoided answering questions about education for women and girls and reiterated that they need more time on girls’ education. In response to questions on girls’ education, the Minister used “cultural appropriations” as the argument for not allowing […]
Taliban Killings of Hazaras Continue
Evidence found by Amnesty International shows that Taliban forces unlawfully killed 13 Hazaras who are Shia Muslims, including a teenage girl and eleven Hazara members of the former Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) in Daykundi province on August 30. A previous Amnesty report released in August also found that the Taliban had “massacred” nine […]
The Taliban Announces Additional Government Officials, All Members of Their Old Guard
Early this week, the Taliban announced additional members of their cabinet, and once again, all of them are the old guard of the Taliban, despite promises of an inclusive government during peace talks. The 38 new members of the interim government of the Taliban were appointed to military and civilian positions. On September 7th, the Taliban announced […]
The Taliban Continues to Silence Afghan Women Protestors
Videos and images shared on social media show that the Taliban are violently beating and harassing a group of women protestors demanding their rights for education in Kabul on Thursday. Women protesters were holding banners that read, “Do not politicize education. Don’t break our pens, don’t burn our books, don’t close our school, education is […]
The Taliban issued a statement only calling for boys to return to school
On Sep. 17, the Taliban issued a statement calling only for boys to return to secondary schools. The statement did not include girls. When the schools reopened the next day, millions of girls across the country did not return to their classes, depriving them of their basic right to education. Students in secondary schools are […]
The Taliban Has Already Rolled Back Afghan Women’s Human Rights
A recent NY Times article featured four Afghan women in the US: two humanitarian activists, a lawyer, and a journalist. The four women raised concern over women and girls in Afghanistan and fear a dark future for the women in their country. “Just two days before the Taliban took over again, the country released the […]
The Taliban’s Cabinet is Mostly Men, Many of Whom Are on Sanctions or Terror Lists
Last week, after much anticipation, the Taliban announced a new government that does not include women or minorities, and a majority – 17 — of them are either on sanctions or terror lists. The list does not include anyone from another political party. It is yet another blatant move by the Taliban, breaking their promise […]
Friends of Afghanistan Urge NATO and EU to Continue Support for Afghanistan
In a letter signed by prominent leaders and individuals worldwide, friends and supporters of Afghanistan urged NATO and the European Union that as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan, “we must not abandon the Afghan people and their democratic republic.” The letter signed by former foreign ministers, former ambassadors to Afghanistan, diplomats, along with […]
Hillary Clinton Warns of “Huge Consequences” on Biden’s Decision to Withdraw from Afghanistan
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Secretary Hillary Clinton appeared critical of President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and stated that the U.S. “has to focus on two huge consequences” for Afghanistan. “This is what we call a wicked problem. “There are consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving,” she […]
Senators on Both Sides of the Aisle Express Concern About Women’s Rights Post- US Withdrawal from Afghanistan
In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week, senators from across the political spectrum expressed concerns about the security situation in Afghanistan post- U.S. and NATO withdrawal this year. Members also appeared tense in their questioning of the U.S. government’s special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. Committee members repeatedly expressed their concerns […]
Afghan Women Negotiators Warn of “State Collapse” Should the US Leave Too Soon
In a hearing held by the Women, Peace, and Security Caucus, Afghan women negotiators emphasized that the United States’ support is critical to the peace process and democracy and that the U.S. “leaving should not result in state collapse and collapse of institutions.” The Afghan women negotiators cautioned that the Afghan peace process requires patience, […]
