After the Taliban’s return to power on August 15, 2021, women in Afghanistan are treated as second-class citizens, systematically stripped of their rights. Over eighty decrees issued by the Taliban confine women to their homes and ban girls from attending school, turning Afghanistan into a prison for women and girls.

This gender apartheid is reinforced by new educational curricula and severe restrictions on women’s participation in every aspect of society. Women’s protests against these injustices have been met with harsh repression, including imprisonment, torture, and accusations of being influenced by foreign entities.

Inside the Taliban’s gender apartheid, a joint project of the Civic Engagement Project and the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, highlights the stories of women who have courageously resisted these injustices—women who have endured imprisonment and brutality for their peaceful demands for basic rights. By refusing to remain silent and shedding light on the violence they face, their testimonies serve as evidence in the fight for justice.

The women who have survived this regime are now calling for international recognition of the Taliban’s gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. This recognition would not only validate their suffering but could also challenge the Taliban’s grip on power and pave the way for transitional justice, offering a potential path to healing and justice for Afghan women and girls. 

The South Asia Center is the hub for the Atlantic Council’s analysis of the political, social, geographical, and cultural diversity of the region. ​At the intersection of South Asia and its geopolitics, SAC cultivates dialogue to shape policy and forge ties between the region and the global community.

Content

In the News

May 18, 2022

Amb Samad in Policy Magazine: Chaos Fatigue and the End of the Taliban Honeymoon

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

Issue Brief

May 18, 2022

Afghanistan: Where US-Iranian interests may yet intersect

By Borzou Daragahi

Borzou Daragahi's latest report delves into the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and how the swift collapse of the US-backed government in Kabul last summer shocked the United States and its influential neighbor, Iran. 

Afghanistan Iran

In the News

May 17, 2022

Iran Initiative event on the Taliban was mentioned in Politico’s National Security Daily newsletter

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Extremism

In the News

Apr 11, 2022

Amb. Rahmani in Washington Post: The world must demand the Taliban stop restricting girls’ education

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Education

New Atlanticist

Apr 1, 2022

Policy memo: Four ways to send money and aid to Afghanistan

By Julia Friedlander, Mrugank Bhusari

Now that the international community has pledged billions for Afghanistan, it is time to consider creative financial tools that can effectively deliver these funds to those who need them most.

Afghanistan Economic Sanctions

SouthAsiaSource

Mar 29, 2022

Let Afghan girls learn

By Nilofar Sakhi

The Taliban must be held accountable for the damage they have caused and continue to inflict upon the people–and most critically the women and girls–of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Education

SouthAsiaSource

Mar 28, 2022

For Afghanistan’s economic revival, focus on macroeconomic stability, financial flows, and economic governance

By Paul Fishstein and Murtaza E. Amiryar

The Biden administration’s General License, announced in February 2022 and exempting international commercial transactions from US sanctions, is a step in the right direction, but its effects will prove limited.

Afghanistan Economy & Business

In the News

Mar 24, 2022

Polymeropoulos in the New York Times on the will to fight

By Atlantic Council

Marc Polymeropoulos discusses CIA officers' assessments of the Afghan regular army’s will to fight after the US withdrawal in 2021.

Afghanistan Conflict

In the News

Mar 14, 2022

Hakimi in RFE/RL on the Afghanistan humanitarian crisis

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 2, 2022

The United States must help Afghan women and girls—even if it requires partnership with China

By Sahana Dharmapuri and Eric Richardson

It’s time for the Biden administration to look beyond its competition with China and realize that sometimes cooperation makes sense, even with one’s adversaries.

Afghanistan China

Experts