An association of Afghan women living in Brazil issued a statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, calling the increasing violence in Afghanistan “horrific” and demanding urgent protections for women at risk.
“In Afghanistan, violence has not only filled the streets, but has entered homes, families and the darkness behind closed doors,” the group wrote. They said that since the return to power of the Taliban, violence against women has reached “unprecedented levels.”
The women said Afghan girls have been stripped of education, women barred from work and freedom, female activists jailed — and thousands of women forced to flee their homes or the country simply to survive.
They urged the creation of safe pathways, asylum and protective measures for women fleeing domestic, social or state‑sanctioned violence. “Support for women must not be a slogan — it must be real action,” their statement said.
They called on the international community to end violence against Afghan women “immediately and unconditionally,” asserting that “no government, culture or force has the right to silence a woman.”
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed annually on Nov. 25, commemorating the 1960 assassination of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic and raising awareness of gender‑based violence worldwide.
