Statement of the Purple Saturdays Movement on the Official Recognition of Gender Apartheid Against Women in Afghanistan(( Report from Ahmed Sohail Perto))

Statement of the Purple Saturdays Movement on the Official Recognition of Gender Apartheid Against Women in Afghanistan(( Report from Ahmed Sohail Perto))

We welcome the United Nations’ decision to officially recognize the gender apartheid against Afghanistan women, systematically enforced by the Taliban. This action represents a significant step toward achieving justice for millions of Afghanistani women and girls who face the most severe forms of oppression and discrimination daily.

We strongly urge the United Nations and relevant international bodies to act swiftly and decisively in response to the “official recognition of gender apartheid” by the Taliban. One of the most crucial demands of Afghanistani women is to hold the Taliban accountable, particularly its senior leaders, as perpetrators of systematic crimes against humanity and gender apartheid against Afghanistani women.

As the voice of the oppressed women of Afghanistan, the Purple Saturdays Movement emphasizes global solidarity in this struggle and calls upon all human rights organizations to apply the necessary diplomatic and legal pressures to ensure justice and end this horrific 21st-century apartheid. Any delay in this regard will not only perpetuate the violations of Afghan women’s human rights but will also call into question the credibility of international bodies in defending human rights.

We view the upcoming meeting to be held by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in October this year as an opportunity for the international community to officially recognize the Taliban’s actions as gender apartheid and pave the way for further legal and diplomatic actions on a global scale.

We believe that the time has come for the United Nations and the global community to move beyond conservative policies and contradictory statements, and to firmly and fundamentally uphold human rights, women’s rights, and the pursuit of justice in support of the victims against the Taliban.

Report from Ahmed Sohail Perto