KABUL, Afghanistan — A women activists movement in a statement on August 15 protested the Taliban’s policies and denounced the international community’s decision “to cede control of the country” to the Taliban as a “devastating catastrophe”.
The women condemned the Taliban’s rule, describing it as a “gender apartheid regime” that has systematically excluded women from public life, enforced mass displacement, and plunged 90 percent of the population into poverty.
The statement also highlighted the increase in regional and global terrorism fostered under Taliban rule, which it warned is expanding with each passing day.
Citing United Nations reports and international media, the movement claimed that more than 10 regional and global terrorist groups are now operating in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, recruiting militants with the aim of spreading violence across the region and beyond.
The women’s movement, which has been vocal in its opposition to the Taliban since its return to power, declared August 15 a “black day” for the people of Afghanistan. This date, which marks the fall of the former government and the Taliban’s takeover, is celebrated by the Taliban as a day of “victory” and “conquest.”
In a report released on the same day, Human Rights Watch criticized the Taliban for creating what it called “the world’s largest women’s rights crisis” since its return to power in August 2021. The report noted that the Taliban has systematically stripped Afghan citizens, particularly women, of their basic rights, including the right to education. Girls and women have been banned from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and from universities.
A recent report by UN Women further emphasized the worsening state of women’s rights under the Taliban’s rule. According to a survey included in the report, 98 percent of Afghan women feel they have little or no influence in their communities’ decision-making processes. The mental health of Afghan women has also deteriorated significantly, with 68 percent reporting poor or very poor mental well-being.
The UN Women report also detailed that over the past three years, the Taliban has issued at least 70 decrees aimed at curtailing the freedoms and fundamental rights of Afghan women.
