Afghan Women Activists Meeting in Albania; The Current Situation of Women in Afghanistan is Gender-Based Persecution

This meeting was held from September 11 to 13 in Tirana, the capital of Albania, with the participation of women activists from inside and outside Afghanistan.

The resolution of this meeting pointed out that one of the main gaps in recognizing gender apartheid in international laws lies in the lack of political will among UN member states to recognize this situation as a crime against humanity.

The women activists called for decisive action by the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights violations and to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

In this meeting, the international community was urged to use existing international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights violations.

Additionally, the resolution emphasized the allocation of resources for documenting human rights violations in Afghanistan, reopening schools and universities for girls with assurance of education according to international standards and digital literacy, and the return of women to work with dignity and income.

Participants in this meeting also called for increased transparency in the distribution of international aid, better coordination of this aid with women-led organizations, and facilitating women’s access to international markets.

Part of the resolution stated that issues such as the presence of women in meetings and dialogues with the Taliban, consulting women on the agenda of these talks, and human rights principles in negotiations with the Taliban were approved in the working committees of this meeting, but no consensus was reached in the general meeting.

This meeting was organized by the “Women for Afghanistan” organization and hosted by the Albanian government. Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women and Girls, was also present.