Human rights leaders and women’s rights advocates from around the world gathered in London on Wednesday to demand urgent international action against the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan and to formally recognize it as gender apartheid under international law.
Organized by DEFAW (Defenders for Equality for Afghan Women), the conference brought together more than 50 organizations and prominent voices, including Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and Afghan artist and activist Aryana Sayeed. The event served as a powerful call for global solidarity against what participants described as one of the gravest human rights crises of the 21st century.
At the heart of the conference was a Joint Declaration urging the international community to legally define and recognize gender apartheid — not just as a political term, but as a crime under future international conventions. “This is a system of oppression that must be named, condemned, and dismantled,” the declaration stated.
The document also called for the full and equal participation of Afghan women in peace and political processes, stronger accountability mechanisms, and long-term support for Afghan civil society — particularly women-led education and human rights initiatives.
Delegates stressed the responsibility of Muslim-majority countries to take a principled stand against gender-based repression, and emphasized the role of the media in documenting abuses and amplifying the voices of Afghan women.
“Silence is complicity,” said one participant. “To ignore or normalize gender apartheid is to abandon Afghan women at a moment of historic crisis.”
Though the Taliban have faced widespread international condemnation since returning to power in 2021, little substantive progress has been made in reversing the sweeping restrictions imposed on women’s education, employment, and freedom of movement.
Organizers hope the conference will serve as a catalyst for legal and diplomatic efforts to hold the Taliban accountable — and to enshrine protections against gender apartheid in international law.
