KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A number of Afghan citizens gathered in the Brazilian city of São Paulo to express concern over the visit of Taliban representatives to Brussels and called on the European Union and other countries to condition any engagement with the Taliban on respect for human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls.
The gathering was organized on (Sunday, June 28) by the Association of Afghans in Brazil. Participants urged countries around the world to refrain from taking any action that would “lead to the legitimization or normalization of widespread human rights violations in Afghanistan.”
Participants also chanted the slogans “Education, Work, Freedom,” “No to Gender Apartheid,” and “No to Engagement with the Taliban,” expressing their solidarity with Afghan women and girls.
They called on the international community not to remain silent in the face of “discrimination, repression, and the ongoing violation of human rights” in Afghanistan and urged that those responsible for human rights abuses be held accountable through international mechanisms.
Participants also called for practical international support for Afghan women and girls and for the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
The current protest followed an initial demonstration on June 9 in Herat’s predominantly Hazara-populated Jibrail Neighbourhood, which erupted after days of mounting public anger over the detention of women. During that protest, Taliban forces reportedly opened fire directly on the crowd and beat demonstrators, killing at least one child and injuring around 20 others, according to local sources and videos.
The Taliban’s use of force against peaceful demonstrators and the detention of women and girls have also drawn strong international condemnation. The United Nations, human rights organizations, politicians, and citizens worldwide have called on the group to stop the violence against peaceful protesters and immediately release all detained women and girls.
Following the protests in Herat against the Taliban’s detention of women and girls, demonstrations of solidarity quickly spread across the Afghan diaspora in Europe and North America. Afghan migrants organized rallies in the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, Germany, and France, expressing support for the women of Herat and condemning the Taliban’s crackdown on peaceful protesters.
In Washington, demonstrators chanted “Education, Work, Freedom” and urged the international community to recognize gender apartheid in Afghanistan. In Geneva, protesters gathered outside the United Nations office, describing the Taliban’s systematic restrictions on women as gender apartheid and denouncing the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations in Herat’s Jebrail area. In Toronto, participants also called for international recognition of both gender apartheid and the genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan.
Across these demonstrations, members of the Afghan diaspora demanded stronger international action to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls and to hold the Taliban accountable for their ongoing human rights abuses.
The protest also follows the European Union’s hosting of a Taliban delegation in Brussels last week for what EU officials described as “technical” discussions focused on migration and the possible return of Afghan nationals whose asylum applications had been rejected or who had committed crimes in EU member states.
The visit drew widespread criticism from human rights organizations, United Nations experts, members of the European Parliament, and Afghan women’s rights advocates, who warned that engaging with the Taliban without meaningful human rights conditions could undermine international efforts to hold the group accountable and risk legitimizing its rule.
The demonstration reflects continued advocacy by members of the Afghan diaspora, who have organized protests and public campaigns in various countries since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. International human rights organizations and United Nations experts have repeatedly expressed concern over restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, while debates continue over how the international community should engage with the Taliban without legitimizing policies that critics say violate fundamental human rights.
