The Afghanistan Women’s Movement in Exile, led by women’s rights advocate Farzana Rasooli, in a statement on Tuesday condemned what it described as the international community’s silence in the face of “systematic oppression, deliberate erasure, and widespread violence” against women in Afghanistan.
“The current state of Afghan women is not merely a domestic concern — it is a crime against humanity,” the group said in a resolution released Tuesday. “Silence is not neutral; it is complicity with the oppressors.”
The movement urged the global community to recognize the situation as an international crisis requiring immediate action. It called for the unconditional restoration of Afghan women’s fundamental rights — including education, employment, political participation and freedom of movement.
“We are not alone,” the resolution said. “Our struggle is not isolated. Our fate is intertwined. Every voice, every step, and every show of support is a light of hope for the women and girls living under the shadow of oppression.”
The group emphasized that “silence in the face of tyranny is itself tyranny,” and declared that now is the time “to stand, to speak, and to unite.”
Under Taliban rule, the statement said, women have been stripped not only of their rights but of their very personhood. The group called on the international community and global human rights bodies to treat women’s rights as a red line in any negotiations or aid agreements with the Taliban. “No deal, no dialogue, no dollar should be exchanged without guarantees for women’s fundamental rights,” it said. “Women’s rights must not be sacrificed to geopolitical convenience.”
The statement also called for the establishment of a formal investigation by the International Criminal Court into what it labeled as the Taliban’s “gender apartheid, systematic discrimination, and crimes against humanity.” The group demanded that such a case be pursued not just symbolically, but with enforceable consequences.
In addition, the movement appealed for the creation of direct support systems inside Afghanistan, bypassing Taliban-controlled structures. These would include safe channels for aid, education, health services, and security — all specifically for women.
Among its key demands, the group called for the United Nations to establish a special oversight mechanism on the situation of women in Afghanistan and urged countries to accept and protect at-risk Afghan women as asylum seekers.
