Afghan Women and the Need for Possibilities

April 26, 2023

“On a gray afternoon last week in Paris, I attended the New University in Exile Consortium Scholars Conference… In particular, I was interested to attend the panel and keynote on The State of Women in Afghanistan Today,” writes Isabelle McRae, a global consultant who attended the Consortium’s most recent conference in Paris, “The Plight of Women and Minorities under Authoritarian Regimes.”

With the U.S. Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, Rina Amiri, as the keynote speaker and a number of Afghan Consortium scholars providing firsthand insights on the current state of affairs, McRae had a front-row seat to learn about the immediate experience of those who fled, the challenges and possibilities for international aid, and the pressing need for sustained international attention.

She writes: “Since the Taliban takeover following the catastrophic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, Afghanistan has become “an open prison for women”. Institutionalizing misogyny, through the near-total ban of women and girls in public space and public life, is contributing to increased insecurity, violence, and poverty in Afghanistan. Speakers laid out how the Taliban are treating women (and their rights) as a bargaining chip to extort the international community while distracting from pressing issues, such as the economy and the formation of a government. The process of this gender persecution has been systematic and, as yet, has not been reversed. It is unacceptable, has no roots in tradition nor religion, and must not be normalized by the international community.”

Read the full post here.