The European Parliament has formally registered a petition calling for the recognition of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan and for the Taliban to be designated a terrorist organization, according to a letter shared by organizers.
The document, dated April 24 and attributed to the parliament’s Directorate-General for the Presidency, states that the petition has been referred to the Committee on Petitions for consideration.
The petition, titled “European Union: Recognize Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan and Designate the Taliban as a Terrorist Organization,” was submitted on March 30 and registered under the number 0778/2026, according to the letter.
Baktash Siawash, a former lawmaker involved in the campaign, said the initiative followed several days of protest sit-ins in Brussels and Strasbourg, during which activists collected thousands of signatures.
Siawash said the campaign calls on European institutions to formally recognize the treatment of Afghan women as “gender apartheid,” avoid normalizing relations with the Taliban and suspend political engagement with them.
The European Parliament document reviewed by Amu TV appears consistent with official parliamentary correspondence, though the petition was not immediately traceable in the parliament’s public petitions database.
The development comes amid continuing international concern over restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
International organizations and rights groups say the Taliban have issued dozens of decrees limiting women’s access to education, employment, travel and public life. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are barred from secondary and higher education.
Human rights advocates and some legal scholars have increasingly described the Taliban’s policies toward women as “gender apartheid,” arguing that the restrictions constitute systematic and institutionalized discrimination based on gender.
Taliban say their policies are based on their interpretation of Islamic law.
The European Parliament has previously passed resolutions condemning Taliban restrictions on women and girls.
