Confronting Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan: A Call for Decisive Action
A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
June 19, 2023 - In the grim landscape of Afghanistan, where the Taliban's relentless edicts have choked the very essence of life for women and girls, an urgent call for change resonates. Ali Maisam Nazary, Head of Foreign Relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), responds to the recent United Nations report detailing the deplorable state of women's rights in the nation.
"We appreciate the UN Special Rapporteur's insightful report concerning the plight of women in Afghanistan," says Nazary. This stark revelation of gender apartheid should be internationally recognized as a severe crime against humanity, a heinous addition to the litany of atrocities perpetrated by the Taliban.
Women in Afghanistan are living in a nightmare. Deprived of their fundamental rights and treated as lesser beings, they are facing a brutality that is unparalleled globally. The most harrowing consequence of the Taliban's ruthless seizure of Afghanistan is the systemic persecution of women. Yet, amid this dark reality, the spirit of resistance persists.
“The only viable strategy to free the women of Afghanistan and permit them to live as equals among others is to aid the citizens of Afghanistan in overthrowing the Taliban terrorist group currently in power.”
Dialogue with the Taliban, he argues, will achieve nothing. For two years, attempts to engage have led to further oppression rather than progress. The Taliban's actions — mass killings, erasure of women, aiding international terrorist organizations, and forced displacements — is an ongoing war, not a path to peace.
Zoubair S. asserts, “If the Taliban could ever cease and abandon their crimes, then they may deserve consideration of dialogue. However, appeasing them with millions in cash and diplomatic recognition has achieved nothing but a worsening of their policies. Resistance is the only leverage for change and peace.”
The persistent civic resistance of the women of Afghanistan and the firm stance of the NRF highlight the pressing need for international intervention. The world cannot stand by while half of Afghanistan's population is stripped of their humanity.
The time for decisive action is now. The restoration of women's rights hinges on the success of the resistance against the Taliban. The fight is far from over. The quest for justice continues. "Overthrowing the Taliban," Nazary concluded, "is the only option for returning women to life in Afghanistan."
