Fighting Gender Oppression in Afghanistan
August 15, 2024 marked the third anniversary of the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan, beginning a new era of brutal discrimination aptly labeled gender apartheid. In those three years, the Taliban have enacted over 100 edicts against the basic human rights of women and girls, depriving them of rights to education, to work, to travel, to go to parks, to show their faces, to access justice—and criminalizing even their voices. IANGEL is fighting this outrageous injustice on multiple fronts. We are working with Afghan women teachers and supporting underground education for over 1,600 women and girls in Afghanistan, and amplifying their messages of resistance on the grim anniversary.
A BRIDGE of support for Afghan women lawyers
In Afghanistan today, women are deprived of access to justice in the courts, and Afghan women lawyers are banned from practicing law, creating a crisis of poverty, despair, and injustice. IANGEL’s BRIDGE project—Building Real Interactions to Drive Gender Equality—is helping to address the crisis. We provide direct financial, emotional, and professional support to women lawyers in Afghanistan, and they in turn are using their skills, training, and expertise to assist women experiencing violence and injustice in their communities. Our BRIDGE project is a force multiplier, providing vital connection and support to sustain these lawyers, their families, and their communities. Learn more about how we are Powering Hope in Afghanistan from the video below, and read comments from BRIDGE participants:
“The presentations during the BRIDGE meetings have taught me lots of ways to fight to achieve my goals and to stand up for myself.” – Aisha (a pseudonym)
“…it makes me feel really positive when I’m able to provide support and assistance to others. It brings me a sense of fulfillment and joy.” – Zainab (a pseudonym)
“While the road ahead is undoubtedly challenging, the solidarity and hope shared by people [at IANGEL] give us strength to continue the fight. I share your belief that one day Afghan women will regain their freedom and that the world will witness their resilience and courage.” – Basira Qazizada, former Afghan woman judge
BRIDGE Impact: Marjan frees an innocent woman
Before the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan, BRIDGE participant Marjan (a pseudonym) was a defense lawyer, fighting gender-based violence for more than 10 years. While the Taliban have banned women from practicing law, with BRIDGE support Marjan is using her knowledge and skills to help her community. This is a story of the impact she has made for one family in need.
In May of 2024, Marjan met a woman with eyes full of tears at her door, begging for help to release her sister, Fatama (pseudonym) from a Taliban prison. For over six years, Fatama’s husband was addicted to and selling drugs. She pleaded with her husband to stop using but was instead met with mental and physical violence. Two months after her husband died, the Taliban searched her house and found a small amount of drugs he left behind. They immediately arrested her and threw her in prison, despite the drugs belonging to her late husband. In prison, Fatama was subjected to torture and beatings every day—despite being wholly innocent of any crime. While the task of releasing someone from a Taliban prison is very difficult, Marjan knew how the system worked, and using her skills, insights, and tenacity, she was able to get Fatama freed. Now Fatama is back home with her small children.
Stories of empowerment and justice like this are truly inspiring, and motivate us to continue the work of the BRIDGE project. As Marjan told us:
“I am ready to support and help the oppressed women of my country. Because I believe in myself that I have the ability and skill to help and solve the problem.”
Expanding Our Teen Information Project
IANGEL recently completed another academic year of its innovative Teen Information Project for Reproductive Justice, to educate teens about their reproductive rights in the Post-Roe era. We started and developed the project with law students at Berkeley Law, and now we have developed a companion program for teens in Indiana. We recently completed our Teen Information Project Guidebook, including a chapter on gender rights at the state and national level. In the coming academic year, we seek new pro bono partners to present the information to Indiana teens, to amplifying the importance of educating teens about their rights, and to foster empowerment and future advocacy.
Under the supervision of IANGEL VP Rebecca Hooley, IANGEL intern and long-time volunteer Keya Poderycki provided invaluable assistance in preparing the Indiana version of the Guidebook. Keya’s Indiana-specific version covers many topics such as the right to privacy, legal policy, consent to healthcare, access to contraception and abortion, raising and adopting a child, sexual assault, and a new chapter about gender identity and expression. It also explores relevant legal decisions and case studies to explain reproductive rights and choices available to Indiana residents in the current era. IANGEL is grateful for Keya’s dedication and excellent work to expand our TIP in Indiana. Check out the Indiana version of the guide here.
Congratulations to our 2024 Rights and Leadership Awardees!
This summer, we were excited to honor two amazing feminist activists with our IANGEL Amel Zenoune-Zouani Rights and Leadership Award: Zubaida Akbar and Hafidha Chekir. Zubaida is a leading women’s rights and civil society activist from Afghanistan, tirelessly working to defend the human rights of Afghan women and girls and marginalized communities in Afghanistan. Professor Chekir is a pioneering feminist, labor activist and human rights defender from Tunisia who has dedicated her life to upholding women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, migrants’ rights, and the rights of people with disabilities.
IANGEL Advocacy In Action
Protecting women’s rights and fostering accountability
On October 1, 2024, IANGEL signed on to an Open Letter to Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, asking the UN to redouble efforts to fulfill the highest ideals of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. The letter outlines 10 actions that the UN Security Council can take to ensure a more just and peaceful future, which includes upholding sexual and reproductive health and rights, demanding accountability and justice for those that violate women’s rights, and insisting that women have the right to full and equal representation, among others. IANGEL is proud to stand in solidarity with women peacebuilders globally in urging the UN to take more decisive action to protect women’s human rights and to create a safer, more peaceful, and sustainable future.
Promoting the crimes against humanity treaty
Earlier this year, IANGEL signed a Joint Statement urging UN Member States to support moving the draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty into negotiations. The draft treaty on crimes against humanity addresses crucial gaps in the international framework on mass atrocities, such as codifying gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. Since April 2024, when the joint statement was released, endorsements of the treaty have increased to more than 580 from just over 300. An open debate is scheduled for October 11th, where UN member states will discuss the proposed articles for the convention one final time. The joint statement will be updated and re-released ahead of the October debate, and we hope that this final push for signatures can influence member state support and adoption. Greater support from civil society and experts around the world is crucial to increase state backing.
Accessing reproductive care is a human right
On September 24, 2024, IANGEL endorsed a critical resolution introduced by Rep. Nikema Williams, affirming that access to abortion is a fundamental human right. Since the fall of Roe, several states have passed bans or severe restrictions to reproductive care. These laws violate basic human rights, as well as U.S. obligation under international human rights treaties. The Resolution in Support of Abortion as a Human Right calls on the U.S. to provide legal, effective, safe and confidential access to care. It also calls to repeal laws that criminalize abortion, ensuring individuals can access healthcare without legal repercussions, and to harmonize the legal and policy framework for abortion care with the World Health Organization’s abortion care guideline. IANGEL joined over 120 organizations in endorsing the resolution.
Solidarity with Afghan women
IANGEL signed “Three Years and Counting: The Struggle and Resistance of Afghan Women”, a solidarity statement written by project partner Femena on August 15, 2024. The statement, co-signed by 30 regional and international human rights organizations, journalists and activists, outlines the horrors that women and girls have faced under the Taliban’s oppressive gender apartheid regime. It also honors the courage and efforts of Afghan women and calls for civil society, like-minded organizations, and individuals to stand in solidarity and urge greater action from the international community.
Greater funding for global gender equality
On July 25, 2024, IANGEL signed a letter to the Office of Management and Budget requesting increased funding for programs that promote gender equity and advance human rights globally in the President’s Budget Request for fiscal year 2026. In the current uncertain political climate, robust investment in protecting women’s rights and reproductive freedom is critically important to building a future of justice and peace.
IANGEL continues to amplify voices for gender equality and to advocate on key issues affecting women and girls in the US and abroad. To find out more, visit our updated Advocacy Actions page.
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