115 organizations & 196 persons endorsed SAHR Letter on Women's Work & Civil Society in Afghanistan
SAHR jointly with the undersigned organizations and individuals write this Open Letter to address the impacts of the Taliban’s order to suspend women employees from working in local and international NGOs in Afghanistan. With this Open Letter, we are calling on the international community to support women-led Afghan NGOs re-strategise to cope with the impacts of the Taliban’s new ban.
“It was painful to tell our female staff not to come to work the following day. We immediately called for an emergency meeting to deal with the operational impact of the ban. It changes everything for us,” said one of our colleagues, an Afghan human rights lawyer.
The NGO sector in Afghanistan was ultimately the last remaining safe place for women to be sustainably employed in. Tens of thousands of Afghan women were employed as educators, advisors, mediators, aid workers, surveyors, midwives, doctors and first responders.
The Taliban’s decree essentially forced women to a state of permanent unemployment and poverty.
“Few months ago, when I was in court helping my client, I got into a discussion with a Taliban judge about women’s work. I challenged him and said: if women cannot work, how are we going to feed our children? He said: either get married, or ask for zakat (charity) but women cannot work,” said one of our colleagues, a human rights lawyer.
Despite international condemnation, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid indicated no sign that the ban would be reconsidered or lifted:
“All those institutions wanting to operate in Afghanistan are obliged to comply with the rules and regulations of our country. We do not allow anyone to talk rubbish or make threats regarding the decisions of our leaders under the title of humanitarian aid.”
Kabul and other major cities were under high-security and surveillance after the decrees were announced.
“I had a drive around the city today morning to assess the changes and security surveillance. There are small groups of Taliban surveillance moving in the city watching women’s movements in the roads, streets and localities,” said one of our colleagues in Afghanistan.
Our colleagues are affected mentally as they are experiencing an unexpected and sudden change. But the current constraints push us to be more committed, motivated, courageous. We are prepared to work harder and to work with a vision. Such challenges and limitations should not stop us from supporting the women in our community who are the most affected and marginalised in the country.
We are calling on the international community for a more serious coordinated response against the systematic violence and gender persecution of women in Afghanistan and to pressure the Taliban to reverse their decision.
Our recommendations are as follows:
Recommendations
UN Security Council
In addition to issuing a statement:
1. Pass a resolution to strengthen -restrictions on the Taliban leadership including an absolute travel ban on the Taliban leadership, and implement penalties under the UN Security Council Resolution 1988.
2. Recognise and acknowledge the recent decrees and restrictions on women as acts of gender persecution amounting to crimes against humanity and take steps to restore peace and security for women, girls and other marginalised groups in the country.
International community and INGOs
3. Support Afghan civil society groups who are in the process of re-strategizing. Assist them to establish their organisations outside of Afghanistan and accommodate new modalities of funding and operations so that they can cope with the new operating context and conditions.
4. Ease the impact of restrictions on women and create opportunities for women to work from home. These opportunities can include: online counselling, telehealth, mobile-counselling, literacy courses, legal advice and awareness, mediation, art and writing projects. Every effort should be made to provide security, remote capacity and support to women aid workers and organizations who are strategizing themselves to work from home.
5. Provide holistic economic, capacity-building and counselling support to women workers who have been dismissed or whose jobs are temporarily suspended. Many women who have contacted us have said they are hopeless, helpless, depressed and isolated. Providing them with psychosocial support and giving them an avenue to continue their education is exceptionally important for their well-being.
Muslim political and religious leaders
6. Establish a mechanism to take joint coordinated actions to engage with the Taliban in political and religious dialogue to reverse restrictions on women, and rapidly respond to crises as they unfold.
7. Examine and challenge rigorously the interpretations that the Taliban has used under Shariah to justify their restrictions and publish widely statements, articles and opinion pieces to declare a consensus within the Muslim community on women’s rights under Shariah.
8. Hold the Taliban to account in ensuring that it upholds, respects and promotes human rights and women’s equality. Any laws or policies that coerce and confine women and/or men to limit their freedom of will to practice their beliefs are in clear violation of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
115 Signataries Organisations:
Action for Women
AFGA
Afghan Canadian Civil Society Forum
Afghan Legal Empowerment Portal
Afghan Women Organization
Afghan-American Foundation
AMERA International
Anusandhan Trust
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)
Assistance Mission for Africa (AMA)
AWO
Benjamin Consulting
Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
BMMA, India
Borsari
Canada Afghanistan Association for Health
Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Canadian Women's Foundation
Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan
Capital Punishment Justice Project
Care international
Centre for Social and Behaviour Change Communication
CEWAG
CivicSight
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Coalition for the Empowerment of Women and Girls
Collective Impact
Comisión para los Derechos Humanos del Estado Zulia (Venezuela)
COMMUNITY AND FAMILY AID FOUNDATION-GHANA
Community Regen
Company of Master Mariners of India
Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations
COSPE Cooperation for the Development of Emerging Countries
Engender Equality in Humanitarian Action
Equality Fund
Equality League
Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association
Ethiopian women lawyers association
Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki
Feminine Solidarity for Justice organization
Forgotten Families
Gender Matters
Global Affairs
Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety
Green Party of Canada
Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights
Heart of an Ace
Himaya Daeem AATAA (HDA)
Human Rights Watch
Humanitarian Relief and Development Council(HRDC)
Huron Shores Refugee Support Group
Independent Medico-Legal Unit-Kenya
International Chamber of Commerce
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
International Women Judges Association
Lighthouse Relief
Malaysian Action for Justice & Unity
Maternity foundation
Medica Mondiale
Mulier Venezuela
Musawah
Muslim Women’s Network UK
Nagaad Women's Network
National Council of Women of Canada
Network of Ethiopian Women's Associations
NGO BADAEL
Ottawa Chapter-Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Philanthropy Advisors
PILnet
Plan International
Project gratitude
Public Concern Foundation
Queen's University
Quman women development Association
Reawakening
Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization SRMO
Shekinah Girls' Empowerment and Protection Initiative
SIHA Network (Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa )
Spotlight Center for Law and Human Rights
Stockholm Cultural Association
Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa
Stronger Together
Sunnybrook hospital
Synergy for Justice
Technical University of Mombasa
The Bloom
The Freedom Bird Foundation
The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the health of women and children
The Healing Circle SG
The Zomia Center
Together Stronger
Training Human Rights Association for Afghan women (THRA)
Trocaire
UCD
Uganda Association of women Lawyers
UN Women
UNFPA
UNHCR
Union pour la Promotion/Protection, la Défense des Droits Humains et de l'Environnement - UPDDHE
University of New Mexico
UNRWA
USAID
Uthema (Maldives)
Welcome Afghan Women
What Took You So Long?
Women and children legal research Foundation
Women for Justice and Equality South Sudan
Women Leaders of Tomorrow
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
WomenPowerConnect
Women's International League for Peace Freedom Canada
Working Women Community Centre
York Support Services Network (YSSN)
8am media
196 individual signataries:
Simone Abel
Anna Abraham
Nayna Agarwal
Kanwal Ahluwalia
Tahmina Akakhil
Nasima Akter
Tamara Aleksidze
Khatera Amin
Hadeia Amiry
Victoria Angel
Kristin Antin
Marco Antolini
Asiya Anwar
Paula Arocha
Amber Arora Shah
Clementina Ashu
Nadira Aslam
Zilma Augusta Rangel
Mohammad Azeem Sharif
Giorgia Barbieri
Elisa Bartolacelli
Lyla Bavaadam
Giulia Bazziga
Alexa Berardino
Elena Bergamaschi
Paola Bianchini
Farah Binte Abdul Rashid
Francesca Borghi
Sara Borghi
Golnara Bosty
Helen Brown
Catherine Carr
Rachel Carter
Shoba Chandy
Shoba Chandy
Laxmi Chhaya
Samantha Chia
Rupa Chinai
Priyanka Chirimar
Salima Chitalia
Chiara Ciminello
Emily Cordeaux
Elisa Corradi
Ilana Cravitz
Pamela Cross
Adam Dainowski
Eszter Darvas-Tanácsné Novák
Leah De Hoet
Katharina Dragu
Sabine Ebner
Mohammad Ekram Sharifi
Aicha El Hajjami
Ebru Ergün
Martha F. Bowden
Inke Fabian
Farahnaz Farah
Ahmad Farid Khan
Antonia Faustini
Florence Fernandes
Francesca Feruglio
Roya Froghi
Sabine Fruendt
Lea Gabay
Silvia Gallo
Gianluca Gotto
Cheryl Grace
Francesco Guaraldi
Natalia Guecheva
Diba Hareer
Rana Hazarat
Sayed Hedait Shah Ziwary
Maryam Heidari
Mark Hepburn
Marcy Hersh Robinson
Caroline Honsberger
Andy Hughes
Sadam Hussian
Ana Sofia Inácio Português
Fiona Iliff
Mohan Jacob
Massoma Jafari
Muzghan Jalal
Hannah Jay
Ashifa Jiwa
Robert Jordan
Surekha kadapa-bose
Laureen Karayi
Marissa Kardon Weber
Muhammad Khalid Masud
Sun-Min Kim
Neeta Kolhatkar
Andrea Koris
Amir Latiff
Francesca Lazzaretti
Carol Le Duc
Nolan LeBlanc
Jill Leslie
Corey Levine
Natasha Lewis
Tina Lieber
Rachel Lindley
Rebecca Lippiatt
Rashmi Luther
António Luz
Sujata Madhok
Looi Yin Mah
Nadia Mahlke
Ellen Mahoney
Margherita Manfredini
Parwin Mansuri
Jennifer Margison
Zemp Maria
Pedro Matos
Patricia Maurice
Patricia Maurice
Gabrielle McGuire
Lata Menon
maimuna merican
Mariam Meynert
Nadia Migdal
Ziba Mir-Hosseini
Miriam Modalal
Salwa Mohammed Radhi Al-Zahid
Zarghona Mohmmadi
Claudia Morini di Tocco
Catherine Mungall-Baldwin
Nadia Naimi
Shaima Nasiri
Samira Nawaby
Selsela Nazeri
Ani Nedkova
Ani Nedkova
Douglas Nuzuran
Candace Okon
Eileen Olexiuk
Chiara Palmisano
Anna Paola Favero
Laura Parker
Elena Pasini
Francesca Penzo
Aleksandra Perczyńska
Kristin Philipson
Joana Picoto
Ester Pizzi
Vivienne Pocha
Rita Pongiluppi
Nilofar Popalzai
Fenella Porter
Aditi Pradhan
Segbe Pritchett
Gowri Rajendran
Abdul Rashid Athar
Krupa Rathod
Sahar Raza
Patrick Reinert
Mary Rizzo
Barbara rosario
Cavallini Rossella
Tatiana Rouhana
Nikhil Roy
Claudio Russo
Martina Sabbatella
Parwaneh Saeedi
Kobra Samim
Shirin Sandström
Asiyah Sarwari
Abdul Sattar
Cristina Sghedoni
Charu Shahane
Malalei Sharif
Maria Sologianni
Anne Sprinkel
Judit Szikra
Hannah Tappis
Lilia Terranova
Cassandra Thomazios
Sarah Tiapula-Stein McCabe
Laura Tincani
Amela Tokić
Mushtaq ul haq ahmad Sikander
Valentina Volpe
abdul wahab salehi
Latifa Wahdat
Tina Wallace
Abdirizak Waraabe
Joanna Warchał-Beneschi
Heike Warmuth
Sascha Werginz
Yvonne Werginz
Margaret Whitley
Elizabeth Whitmore
Saskia Wishart
Zahra Yagana
Musa Zafar
Maliha Zia Lari
For more information
Contact Humaira Ameeri at humaira@sa-hr.org
Read SAHR Open Letter on the ban on women’s higher education here.
Read SAHR and Musawah Joint Statement on the ban on women’s higher education here.
SAHR is a peer-led network of human rights defenders fueling a worldwide movement of women and diverse human rights defenders working to end gender-based violence through law and policy reform.www.sa-hr.org
