Afghanistan Women’s Rights Watch Meets Richard Bennett; Emphasis on Documenting Violations and Ending Global Silence

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A number of the "Afghanistan Women’s Rights Watch" met with Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, on yesterday (June 28) in Ankara, Turkey.

During the meeting, Zakira Hakmat, founder of the Afghanistan Women’s Rights Watch, gave an overview of the organization’s formation, activities, and goals, stressing the need to institutionalize independent monitoring of the status of women’s rights in Afghanistan. She also outlined the organization’s future plans for documenting human rights violations against women both inside and outside the country.

Members of the organization raised a wide range of women’s rights violations in Afghanistan, including increased domestic violence, forced and child marriages, harassment of women, and the arrest and torture of civil activists, journalists, and human rights defenders in Taliban prisons. They also expressed concern about the forced deportation of Afghan women refugees from neighboring countries such as Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.

During the session, journalist Tamim Attaiy highlighted the catastrophic state of human rights in Afghanistan, saying: “The Taliban have not only deprived women of their human rights, they have completely erased them from social, economic, educational spaces, and even from the right to breathe in society. What is happening in Afghanistan today is nothing less than gender apartheid. Yet the international community has remained silent or issued only shallow and ineffective responses to these crimes.”

He added, “We need concrete action, targeted political pressure, and clear accountability, not just statements of concern. Unfortunately, some figures, through their troubling remarks, have contributed to normalizing and whitewashing the Taliban without being held accountable.”

Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur, welcomed the work of the Women’s Rights Watch and described the creation of such an organization as an important step toward accurately documenting the situation of women in Afghanistan. He expressed his support for their efforts.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a detailed and well-documented report on violations of Afghan women’s rights was presented to Mr. Bennett by the organization’s members.