KABUL, Afghanistan — The Purple Saturdays Movement, a prominent women’s rights group in Afghanistan, has condemned the international community’s silence and inaction, accusing it of emboldening the Taliban to continue their oppressive campaign against women.
In a forceful statement, the group called on the United Nations and global leaders to urgently address the escalating crimes against Afghan women. Maryam Marouf Arvin, head of the organization, criticized the lack of meaningful action over the past three years, which she said has led to severe and widespread violations of women’s rights under Taliban rule.
“The international community and the United Nations have failed to fulfill their conscientious responsibility toward Afghan women,” Arvin said, expressing deep frustration with what she described as an inadequate global response to the ongoing crisis. “For three years, the women of Afghanistan have been crying out for help, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”
The Purple Saturdays Movement highlighted that under the Taliban’s rule, women have been systematically barred from education, employment, and public life, and many have been subjected to violence, forced marriages, and other forms of gender-based persecution.
“We are on the brink of a catastrophe,” Arvin warned. “If the United Nations and the international community do not step up now, history will judge them harshly for allowing this tragedy to unfold.”
Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, they have imposed severe restrictions on women and girls, including curtailing their access to education and employment, drawing widespread condemnation from rights groups and activists around the world.
