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Activists Urge Melania Trump to Champion Afghan Women’s Rights Amid Taliban Oppression

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghan women activists have urged Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, to use her influence in advocating for the rights of Afghan women and girls, who are enduring severe oppression under Taliban rule.

In an open letter to Ms. Trump, a copy of which was shared with KabulNow, over 20 Afghan women’s movements expressed grave concern over the worsening situation for Afghan women and girls, describing it as one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history.

“Since the Taliban’s return to power, the lives of Afghan women and girls have become a nightmare, with their rights violated and their most basic freedoms stripped away,” the activists wrote.

“The Taliban has issued anti-women decrees, banning girls from education and preventing women from working in government and private sectors,” they said. These restrictions, the activists warned, will bring about long-term economic, social, and cultural challenges for the country.

“Afghan women are not only deprived of their basic rights but are also brutally suppressed,” the activists added, citing reports of arrests, torture, rape, and killings targeting women activists, journalists, and teachers.

The activists also highlighted the plight of ethnic groups, including Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and other groups, who are also being persecuted under the Taliban’s rule.

The activists urged Melania Trump and the U.S. government to use all diplomatic and economic means to pressure the Taliban into respecting women’s rights. They called for increased support for women’s education, including scholarships abroad and online schools as temporary alternative solutions.

In addition, they appealed for more robust support for Afghan refugees, particularly women and girls, and asked for the asylum process to be expedited for at-risk women activists in neighboring countries and Albania.

Since returning to power, the Taliban has imposed strict restrictions on women’s rights, effectively barring them from education, employment, and public life. UN experts, human rights groups, and Afghan activists have labeled the Taliban’s actions as “gender apartheid” and are urging that these policies be recognized as crimes against humanity.

Despite significant lobbying efforts by the UN, human rights organizations, and the international community, including the majority of Islamic countries, the Taliban have yet to ease their stance.