Afghan women launch campaign of eight requests on March 8, signed by 800 people

By: Rukhshana Media

A March 8 campaign to mark International Women’s Day was launched by Afghan women with eight requests to the international community. The open letter was signed by 800 people to emphasize support for it.

The letter, seen by Rukhshana Media on March 9, begins with the story of Afghanistan in August 2021 and the struggle of Afghan women against the forces of “ignorance and darkness” known as the Taliban.

The letter states that this is the second year since Afghan women endure an International Women’s Day under some of the worst conditions known to women in the world.

It states that Afghanistan is facing an implementation of a gender apartheid system in which women are deprived of almost all basic rights. They call the Taliban a terrorist group saying, “Afghan women have no expectations from this group. But once again, we remind the international community, the United Nations, and NATO countries not to leave Afghan women alone in this fight against extremism and not to forget their responsibility towards the people of Afghanistan.”

The letter has eight requests, including

1. No official recognition of the Taliban by the world’s nations
2. An end to the “whitewashing” of the Taliban by some countries
3. More support for the women and girls of Afghanistan,
4. Stop ignoring the Taliban’s policy of eliminating women from public spaces
5. Impose greater sanctions on senior officials of the Taliban
6. An end to meetings of countries officials and authorities with the Taliban inside Afghanistan
7. Close the Taliban office in Doha
8. Implementation of countries’ obligations in connection with the protection of human rights in Afghanistan.

The letter said these requests were being made of the international community while the attention had briefly turned again to the plight of Afghan women on International Women’s Day. In the 19 months of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the group has systematically deprived women and girls of fundamental rights of mobility, education, work and a number of personal and social freedoms.