Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Afghan civil society activists, artists and members of the Afghanistan community gathered in Washington on Sunday, August 16, to mark the fifth anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan’s former republic, calling for continued international support for the rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls.
Participants urged governments and international institutions to maintain advocacy for a free, inclusive and rights-based future for Afghanistan. They also called for greater international attention to the restrictions facing women and girls, including their exclusion from secondary and higher education, employment, social activities and much of public life.
The gathering comes as Afghanistan enters its fifth year under Taliban rule, with international rights groups continuing to document extensive restrictions on women and girls. Human Rights Watch has described the situation as one of the world’s worst human rights crises and said the restrictions have systematically dismantled many rights of women and girls.
Participants in Washington called on the international community to take stronger action against what they described as “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan. They urged governments to ensure that engagement with the Taliban is tied to measurable commitments on human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls, rather than leading to normalization without conditions.
Their concerns come amid growing international engagement with the Taliban despite the absence of significant changes to its policies on women’s rights.
The gathering also highlighted other longstanding concerns, including alleged land seizures, forced displacement and violations affecting ethnic communities. Participants called for independent mechanisms to document human rights violations and for those responsible to be held accountable.
The situation of Afghan women and girls was a central concern. Reuters reported this month that approximately 2.4 million Afghan girls have been barred from secondary education since the Taliban returned to power, making Afghanistan the only country where women and girls are formally excluded from both secondary and higher education.
The United Nations has also warned that funding shortages are threatening programs supporting Afghan women. More than half of 74 women’s organizations surveyed by U.N. Women were reportedly at risk of suspending operations or closing within a year, while the U.N.’s $1.7 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan remained only partly funded.
Beyond restrictions on rights, Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian agencies have warned of growing needs amid poverty, displacement, drought, earthquakes and declining aid, while nearly 40% of the population is estimated to require humanitarian assistance.