Three years into the Taliban rule, the country remains a hotbed of unchecked and unabated human rights abuses – gender persecution, torture, arbitrary detentions, and censorship – all with zero accountability. The world’s response? Tepid at best.
What’s the problem?
Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, Afghanistan has been in a downward spiral of human rights violations. Women are banned from all aspects of life, abuses like torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, censorship, among others, continue with absolute impunity. Severe restrictions on right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and political participation of women have gone unchecked. The return of corporal punishment and absence of an independent judiciary further exacerbates theres issues, leaving victims without any recourse to justice.
It surprises me how international community still expect that the Taliban will respect human rights.
Tarina Wodod – Human Rights Defender, Afghanistan
Even as the people of Afghanistan remain stuck in this endless nightmare, the international community has failed to take any meaningful action. Strong words won’t stop this repression; strong action will. Governments around the world must step up to put an end to this cycle of repression.
What can you do to help?
Sign the petition now, demanding the international community to:
- Take unified and stronger actions to urgently establish a robust accountability mechanism to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights abuses.
- Use all forms of leverage to pressure the Taliban to respect and protect the rights of women and girls, end gender persecution and enable the space for women’s meaningful participation in social, political and cultural spheres.
- Take concrete measures towards addressing the practice of corporal punishment by the Taliban and support the establishment of competent, independent and impartial formal justice mechanism to enable access to justice to Afghanistan population, including women.