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Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Women During a Protest for Afghan Women's Rights
Women During a Protest for Afghan Women's Rights

The Taliban's 2021 takeover in Afghanistan was a disaster for women's rights, causing an almost complete reversal of the hard-won human rights progress over previous decades.

Our latest reports show surges in child marriage, denial of education, torture, arbitrary detention for those fleeing abuse & arrest of protesters. Women are now banned from even entering public parks and gyms, and cannot leave the house without a male chaperone.

As the violence and oppression against women intensifies, we must support Afghan women and demand for mechanisms to protect their rights.

Football: Afghan team which fled Taliban beat Women's UK Parliamentary team in match to support refugees

Amnesty kickstarts its Football Welcomes month with a match between the Afghanistan National Team Development Squad and the UK Women’s Parliamentary team

UK: Help for Afghan refugees 'moving at a snail's pace'

Draconian Nationality and Borders Bill puts Afghans at risk of prosecution, and life-threatening maritime pushbacks
United States

USA: admission over civilian deaths in Kabul drone strike must lead to real accountability

Response to the United States military’s admission tonight that it killed ten civilians - including seven children - in a drone strike in Kabul on 29 August.
Afghanistan

USA/Afghanistan: there must be accountability for deadly drone strike

Amnesty International is calling for a credible and transparent investigation into the full circumstances around a US drone attack on a residential neighborhood in Kabul on Sunday which reportedly killed ten members of the same family, including six children.

UK: Latest figures show around half of Afghan asylum claims rejected by Home Office

Quarterly Home Office immigration statistics show that in year to June 2021, ​only 489 out of 1,089 Afghans ​granted protection

Poland/Belarus: 32 Afghans trapped at border must be helped

Large group of Afghans, including a 15-year-old girl, marooned near Polish village of Usnarz Górny for more than a fortnight
Afghanistan

Afghanistan: UN Human Rights Council session a shameful failure

The UN Human Rights Council has shamefully failed the people of Afghanistan after neglecting to establish an independent mechanism to monitor ongoing crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses, Amnesty International said today.

G7 Afghanistan meeting: Boris Johnson must 'lead by example' over humanitarian crisis

Amnesty is urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure that the UK “leads by example” in the international response to the gathering humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan

USA: ten human rights organisations warn Biden over Afghan evacuation failings

Ten leading human rights organisations have signed an open letter calling on US President Joe Biden to urgently do more to evacuate vulnerable people from Afghanistan.

UK: Afghanistan resettlement scheme is 'too little, too late'

With many Afghans in immediate jeopardy, a promise to resettle a few thousand people in the ‘coming years’ is too little, too late.

UK must urgently expand 'grossly flawed and utterly inadequate' relocation scheme for Afghanistan

Many Afghan refugees have no offer of a safe route to reach the UK, whatever connection they have to the UK

Afghanistan: Europe must 'not turn a blind eye' to Afghan refugees facing return to dangerous country

The security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and Europe should not turn a blind eye to the dangers faced by Afghan returnees.
Greece

'How long can we tolerate this situation?' Stories from the Greek islands' refugee camps

15,000 people are currently stranded on the islands. They need and deserve hope for a better future. Urge the authorities to take action.
Blog

'Talk to me, not about me': Afghan women left out in the cold by NATO

The largest ever gathering of world leaders in the UK is taking place in Wales. Afghanistan is on the agenda at NATO - but half of its population has no voice there.

This is a perfect opportunity for decision-makers to hear from women in Afghanistan, involve them in shaping their country's future. So why are Afghan women being left out in the cold?

Groups activity pack, September 2014 - Women's Rights in Afghanistan

From stunts and demonstrations to lobbying your MP, there are loads of ways for you to support the rights of women in Afghanistan at this critical time when hard-won women's rights could easily slip away.
In depth

Women in Afghanistan: The Back Story

It hasn't always been this way. Women in Afghanistan used to work, wear what they want, play sports. They had the vote before women in the US. But decades of conflict and violence, particularly under the Taliban, saw women and girls confined to their homes, unseen and unheard.
Activism

Amnesty groups demand support for Afghan women

At stalls in town centres, at comedy nights and at concerts, Amnesty local groups have been busy getting your communities to sign a petition demanding support for women in Afghanistan.
See photos from activists around the UK supporting the campaign.
Real lives

A letter to my mother

"All I can do is look up to you, hoping that one day you will make a change to the world and give the oppressed Afghans, particularly women, the courage to speak up for their rights."
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Read Sahar's moving letter to her mother, Horia, who works as our Researcher for Afghanistan.