KABUL – Afghan women are preparing to hold coordinated protest rallies in cities worldwide this week, marking the fourth anniversary of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban and calling for stronger international action against the group’s gender-based persecution.
In a statement released by women’s rights activists, the demonstrations will begin on Thursday, August 14, and run through Saturday, with events planned in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, the United States, Canada, and Brazil.
Organizers say the protests aim to draw global attention to what they describe as gender apartheid in Afghanistan, where since August 2021 the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s freedoms, banning secondary and higher education for girls, barring women from most employment, restricting their movement, and erasing them from public life.
The United Nations has repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s policies as the most severe form of women’s rights suppression anywhere in the world, with several rights groups urging the international community to formally recognize gender apartheid as a crime under international law.
Similar protests have been held on past anniversaries of the Taliban takeover, with Afghan diaspora communities and their allies demanding increased sanctions, a halt to international engagement with the Taliban, and accountability for ongoing human rights violations.
