A group of protesting women, on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, stated that women in Afghanistan, particularly human rights activists, journalists, and female protesters, are facing one of the most severe humanitarian and legal crises in the world.
The protesting women issued a statement calling on the international community and global organizations to increase pressure on the interim government to lift the educational, occupational, and social bans imposed on women.
They emphasized that systematic restrictions, widespread violence, and the complete exclusion of women from social, political, and economic spheres in Afghanistan are clear examples of human rights violations and gender apartheid.
The statement from the protesting women noted that since the current government’s takeover, women have been deprived of their rights to education, work, freedom of expression, and participation in society.
Furthermore, it mentioned that safe and legal pathways for the exit and resettlement of female protesters, journalists, human rights activists, and former military personnel facing threats and repression in Afghanistan and neighboring countries must be established.
It is worth noting that over the past three years, the interim government has imposed numerous restrictions on citizens, especially women and girls. Currently, girls and women are banned from attending school, university, and work, and are deprived of their most basic rights.
Additionally, women and girls are prohibited from going to sports clubs, restaurants, public baths, receiving medical examinations by male doctors, traveling without a male guardian, and working in domestic and international NGOs as well as even in United Nations offices in Afghanistan.
This comes despite the interim government repeatedly claiming that citizens’ rights, including women’s rights, have been increasingly secured within the framework of Islamic laws in the country.
