Afghan Citizens in Toronto: Stop Normalising the Taliban
- Zan News
- Aug 18
- 2 min read
A number of Afghan citizens living in Toronto, Canada, held a protest gathering on the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, calling for an end to restrictions on women and girls, a halt to the normalisation of the Taliban, and guarantees for the fundamental rights of the Afghan people.
They called on the international community and human rights organisations to take serious action to recognise and criminalise “gender apartheid” and hold those responsible accountable.
A statement issued at the gathering said: “The Taliban must not gain legitimacy through normalisation.”
They stressed that any international engagement with the Taliban should be conditional on respect for the fundamental rights of the Afghan people, particularly the rights of women and girls, freedom of expression and civil liberties.
They also called for the immediate reopening of schools and universities to girls, women’s right to work and participate in society, and the restoration of the civil and political rights of Afghan citizens.
The statement called on international institutions to independently investigate reports of targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations against former military and security personnel, and to hold those responsible accountable.
Afghan citizens in Toronto also stressed the importance of freedom of expression and the work of independent media, and called for the release of political, civil society and media prisoners, as well as an end to censorship and the suppression of freedom of expression.
They also called for independent investigations into allegations of land seizure, forced displacement and demographic changes, stressing that property rights and the right of citizens to live in safety must be guaranteed without discrimination.
They urged host countries to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and not to return women protesters, journalists, civil society activists and other people at risk to Afghanistan.
Afghan citizens living in Toronto stressed that “15 August is not the end of the aspirations of the Afghan people” and called for an Afghanistan where women and men are equal, girls and boys have the right to education, and no citizen is persecuted because of ethnicity, language, gender or political views.
This comes as five years have passed since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, a period marked by a humanitarian crisis, widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls, and extensive restrictions on the social and civic lives of citizens.
