Protesting Women: The International Community Must Act Swiftly to Recognize Gender Apartheid

In this statement, released today (October 1), the movement considers the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan as a crucial step towards achieving justice for millions of Afghan women and girls who face severe forms of “oppression and discrimination” daily.

The Purple Saturdays Movement also emphasized global solidarity in the fight for the rights of Afghan women and called on all human rights organizations to apply diplomatic pressure to achieve justice and end the “horrific apartheid of the 21st century” imposed by the Taliban.

The movement views the upcoming United Nations Legal Committee meeting in October this year as a historic opportunity to officially recognize the Taliban’s actions as gender apartheid and stressed that the international community must deeply and fundamentally defend human rights values, women’s rights, and justice in support of the victimized women against the Taliban, instead of adopting conservative policies and contradictory statements.

This comes as the Taliban, after returning to power in Afghanistan, have imposed severe restrictions on women and girls. Women’s and human rights activists consider the group’s policies towards women as gender apartheid and demand its recognition and criminalization.

Recently, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia issued a joint statement warning that if the Taliban do not stop gender discrimination, they will file a complaint against the group at the International Court of Justice for violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. More than 20 countries have supported this statement so far.