Global Afghan Women’s Campaign Demands End to ‘Gender Apartheid’ Under Taliban Rule
The Coordination Association of Active Afghan Women has announced the launch of a global campaign titled “End Gender Apartheid Now,” aimed at rallying the international community to take concrete action. According to the association, this campaign is a response to the escalating systemic restrictions against women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The association states that the campaign is scheduled to run for eight weeks and began on Wednesday, January 6, entering its fourth day. Throughout the program, each week will highlight the activities and voices of association members in a different country, demonstrating that the resistance of Afghan women continues beyond borders.
In a statement, the association noted that more than four years after the Taliban’s return to power, the situation for women and girls has not improved but has systematically worsened. The exclusion of women from public life, the denial of education to girls beyond the sixth grade, and the closure of avenues for social participation pose a grave threat to the future of an entire generation.
The association criticized the international community’s approach, emphasizing that while repression has intensified, the world has moved towards silence and normalization of the situation. They argue that the acceptance of Taliban representatives in some European countries, Russia’s move toward recognition, and continued financial support from the United States show that policies of condemnation and negotiation over the past four years have yielded no concrete results.
Since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, they have gradually restricted a large number of fundamental rights for women, prohibiting them from secondary education beyond grade six and from attending universities. Despite widespread global and domestic backlash, these policies have not only persisted but intensified.
In this context, Alice McDonald, a member of the British Parliament, previously warned in a speech that neglecting the crisis of women’s rights and what she called “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan would be a betrayal of Afghan women and women everywhere. She stressed that despite the devastating conditions, Afghan women have not surrendered and continue to find ways to act and resist with determination and creativity.
