Marking Two Years of Taliban Oppression

The recent joint report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls to the UN Human Rights Council details widespread and systematic discrimination against Afghan women and girls and concludes that this may amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution under the Rome Statute. [...] Due to the Taliban’s actions over the last two years, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, international experts, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett have denounced the Taliban’s treatment of women as “gender apartheid.” The international community has watched as Afghan women and girls are experiencing the worst human rights crisis in the world. [...] government agencies working on programs and policies related to Afghanistan must: • Continuously and meaningfully consult with a diverse set of Afghan women and girls inside and outside of Afghanistan on political, economic, and humanitarian strategies to restore Afghans their rights and opportunities; • Ensure that Afghan women and girls’ rights are part of every U. [...] must work closely with partners and institutions like the UN Secretariat, the Security Council, and UN agencies to amplify the voices and needs of Afghan women and girls and pressure the Taliban regime to end its gender-based human rights abuses. [...] The circumstances for women and girls in Afghanistan are relevant to the rights, security, and well-being of women and girls everywhere.