Summer profiles: Afghan women’s struggle against Taliban oppression

AP Photo/Marco Di Lauro

It’s three years since the Taliban took back control in Afghanistan. Inside Geneva talks to an Afghan human rights defender.

“I was scared and I could see it coming. Yes, I mean, I think for the women of Afghanistan, we knew that the Taliban taking over would mean a dark future for women,” says Fereshta Abbasi from Human Rights Watch.

In three years, women’s rights have been steadily, and brutally, repressed.

“No matter what we have done in the past three years, we haven’t been able to reverse a single decree of the Taliban that is restricting women’s rights,” continues Abbasi.

“In 2024, Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where women do not have access to education beyond the sixth grade. Women do not have the right to most employment. Women do not have the right to freedom of movement. Women do not have the right to protest and assemble. So, I think we need to speak about it,” says Abbasi.

+ What now for the women of Afghanistan?

What can we do to support Afghan women?

“I think it’s very important to stand with them, to listen to them, and to amplify their voices. It’s very difficult to think of a better Afghanistan, a brighter future for women under Taliban rule. And I don’t want to think about that. I want to believe and hold my strength together, that this madness cannot last.”

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