This convening was held under Chatham House rules. For the safety of our speakers, their identities and affiliations will remain private; however, their message should be shared widely. 

This month, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) hosted its fourth annual convening for Afghan women leaders—a powerful gathering of more than 30 experts on Afghanistan, who are committed to defending the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Over the course of several days, participants assessed the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan and developed coordinated strategies to advance their advocacy. The convening culminated in an advocacy day on Capitol Hill, where the group met with nine congressional offices to deliver concrete policy recommendations to support Afghan women and girls.

The gathering brought together Afghan women across a range of technical sectors, ethnic groups, and regional backgrounds. Many of the participants were forced to flee Afghanistan—and some were evacuated by GIWPS—during the Taliban takeover in August 2021 because their roles as high-profile activists, civil society leaders, journalists, and government officials placed them at risk. Today, they continue to raise their voices from exile and support women and girls inside Afghanistan, bringing critical insights and strategic advocacy to one of the world’s most urgent human rights crises.

In their strategy sessions, participants described the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan—one that is falling hardest on women and girls. Since 2021, the Taliban has systematically dismantled women’s rights, banning girls from secondary education, barring women from most jobs, restricting mobility, and silencing female voices in public life.

“I went to bed a diplomat and woke up without a country,” said one participant, recalling the chaos of the evacuation.

A recent claim by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Afghanistan’s security situation has “improved” to justify deporting Afghans who had received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S. The reality is starkly different for all Afghans at risk of being deported, especially for women and girls. In fact, the Taliban’s gender-based discrimination is so severe that UN experts have described it as a form of gender apartheid.

Participants shared harrowing stories of women being forced into marriage to avoid Taliban retaliation and young women driven to suicide to escape these forced marriages and avoid retribution.

“One young woman dead is one too many,” a participant said.  It was a statement met with solemn nods around the room.

Yet, some international governments are beginning to engage diplomatically with the Taliban, a dangerous step towards normalizing this brutal regime. This normalization of the Taliban poses a grave threat, not only to Afghan women and girls but to global security and the international democratic order.

“The Taliban’s ideology is like COVID-19. It cannot be contained within Afghanistan’s borders,” warned one of the participants. “The world must act now to protect itself.”

During the convening, the Afghan women leaders developed a set of concrete policy recommendations, which they presented to US policymakers:

• Avoid any steps that could lead to the normalization of the Taliban regime
• Restore humanitarian aid, reverse funding cuts that negatively impact Afghan women and girls, and support education initiatives
• Promote women’s participation in all international processes, such as the Doha process
• Expand efforts to protect women and girls who were forced to flee Afghanistan at risk to their lives 
• Enforce full compliance with the Women, Peace, and Security Act across relevant U.S. agencies
• Pursue accountability of the Taliban under international law 

The insecurity in Afghanistan affects security around the world. The U.S. has supported women’s rights in Afghanistan for decades and must continue to do so. Afghanistan is facing a dire humanitarian situation, and these women leaders warned that if the Taliban is normalized, the spread of violence and systematic oppression against women would move beyond borders and undermine peace, democracy, and human rights everywhere.

Read a full list of recommendations from Afghan women leaders.