Global Conference at Canadian Parliament Calls for End to Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
An international conference titled “From Kabul to Ottawa: Global Solidarity to End Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan” was held yesterday at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. Organized by the Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network and supported by several members of the Canadian Parliament, the event drew attention from global institutions, diplomats, and women’s rights activists to the deteriorating situation of women under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Participants at the gathering warned that Afghan women and girls are enduring one of the harshest regimes of gender discrimination, with many human rights experts identifying it as a clear case of “gender apartheid.” The primary objective of the conference was to foster a global consensus for the official recognition of this apartheid and to strengthen international accountability mechanisms.
Opening the event, Canadian MP Ali Ehsassi reiterated the government and parliament’s commitment to supporting Afghan women. Zarqa Yaftali, director of the Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network, emphasized the importance of sustained global solidarity and called for concrete international actions to combat systematic discrimination against Afghan women.
Rubina Hamdard presented the network’s latest findings, which indicate that Taliban policies have led to growing exclusion of women from education, widespread unemployment, removal from social and political spheres, and an increase in gender-based violence.
Humira Saqib delivered a letter signed by over 1,000 Afghan women to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The letter urged Canada to take global leadership in criminalizing gender apartheid and to advocate for this issue at the United Nations, stressing that Canada must champion Afghan women’s rights and international justice.
Canadian Senators Marilou McPhedran and Rebecca Patterson highlighted the need for substantive female participation in Afghanistan’s future decision-making processes and the necessity of protecting them. Salma Ataullahjan condemned the continued exclusion of women from political dialogue as “unacceptable” and underscored the importance of global solidarity.
Hassan Soroush, former Afghan ambassador to Canada, expressed concern over the deepening human rights crisis in Afghanistan and called for international accountability for violations of women’s rights.
During a side panel titled “Accountability and Criminalizing Gender Apartheid,” participants including David Sproule, Maryam Monsef, Gisoo Yari, Claudia Flores, Richard Bennett, and Freshta Karimi highlighted the systemic nature of women’s repression by the Taliban and the failure of current legal systems to address it, advocating for formal recognition of gender apartheid.
Another session, “Strengthening Advocacy to Prioritize Afghan Women’s Rights,” featured experts such as Karima Bennoune, Heather Barr, and Zabihullah Jawad from the United Nations and international organizations. They called on the world to include Afghan women in decision-making and recognize the Taliban’s systematic destruction of their opportunities as an undeniable example of gender apartheid.
In closing, Sotoodeh Foroutan described the conference as the beginning of a new chapter in global efforts to recognize gender apartheid. The Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network concluded the event by presenting the “Support for Afghan Women Award” to several international women’s rights advocates, announcing that the award will be presented annually during the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
