Several women’s activist groups used International Women’s Day on March 8 to denounce what they described as growing repression under Taliban rule and to renew calls for global support for women’s rights in Afghanistan.
In statements released to mark the day, the Free Women in Exile Movement said women in Afghanistan have faced unprecedented levels of discrimination and exclusion over the past year, describing Taliban policies as systematic efforts to marginalize women from public life.
The group said women have been barred from education, employment and many forms of social participation, leaving them deprived of what it called the right to live with dignity. Despite the restrictions, the movement said women continue to raise their voices “from closed homes, suppressed streets and exile” to demand justice and freedom.
“We believe that oppression will not last forever,” the group said in its statement. “One day the sun of justice, equality and freedom will rise over this wounded land.”
Other activist groups also used the occasion to highlight the consequences of the Taliban’s policies.
Members of the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement staged a symbolic performance intended to illustrate the impact of restrictions on women’s lives. The demonstration depicted a scene in which a female patient was unable to receive medical care because of a shortage of female doctors — a situation activists say has worsened as women have been pushed out of many professions.
Another group, the Afghanistan Women’s Freedom Movement, said women protesters have faced threats, arrests and harassment during nearly five years of demonstrations and activism. Despite those risks, the group said, women would continue their struggle for freedom and human dignity.
The activists also called on the international community not to grant political legitimacy to the Taliban and urged governments to strengthen targeted sanctions and support Afghan women’s civil resistance.
“Silence in the face of gender apartheid is complicity in injustice,” the group said.
International Women’s Day, recognized by the United Nations since 1975, is observed worldwide to highlight women’s achievements and to promote gender equality and women’s rights.
In Afghanistan, the day comes as the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women since returning to power in 2021.
Girls have been barred from education beyond the sixth grade, and women have been restricted from working in many sectors, including nongovernmental organizations and UN agencies. Taliban have also imposed limits on women’s movement, access to public spaces such as parks and baths, and travel without a male guardian.
