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.

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New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2009

Missing Tools for the Afghan Job

By Harlan Ullman

U.S. President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan speech Tuesday, well advertised in advance and delivered at West Point for added effect, provoked predictable criticism from both the left and right.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2009

Obama Faces Ghost of LBJ in Tonight’s Speech

By Don Snow

President Obama has apparently reached his decision on Afghanistan, which he will explain to the public on Tuesday night. If early leaks intended to get us more used to–and presumably comfortable with–the content are correct, he is going to give General McChrystal most of what he wants, although with some time constraints (the “off ramps”) […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2009

Obama’s Afghanistan Speech: What to Look For

By James Joyner

President Obama’s speech tomorrow night, in which he finally announces his Afghan strategy and responds to General McChrystal’s September request for more troops, will be closely watched by the American public, our NATO Allies, foreign leaders, and the people of Afghanistan and the region.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2009

OSCE’s Role in Afghanistan

By Borut Grgic

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of 56 participating states in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will gather in Athens to review the security developments in a region spanning from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2009

Obama and Afghanistan: No Good Choices

By Don Snow

Within the next several days, President Obama will likely announce his decision regarding American strategy in Afghanistan. He has kept his counsel close to the vest on this, and I have no idea good enough to bet on what he will decide. One thing I do know for certain: regardless of what his decision is, […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2009

Testing Obama’s Predicament in AfPak

By Harlan Ullman

After eight years of war and huge expenditures of national treasure, is the United States really serious about succeeding in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Afghanistan Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2009

Afghanistan Exit: Follow The Gorbachev Plan

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Did Mikhail Gorbachev launch glasnost and perestroika in the mid-1980s with the aim of bringing about genuine democratic change in the Soviet Union? That’s what he says in two interviews on both sides of the Atlantic — Euronews’ Maria Pineiro and Nation Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel — to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 9, 2009

Critical Decision Point in Afghanistan

By Don Snow

Although supporters of the Afghan War (including the Obama administration) hate the comparison, the outcome of the recent runoff election fiasco in Afghanistan suggests a parallel with the American experience in Vietnam.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 4, 2009

Afghanistan: Not a Question of Dither or Decide

By Harlan Ullman

The debate over what to do next in Afghanistan has been politically polarized between those who attack the Obama administration for “dithering” and supporters who believe the president needs ample time to be a “decider.” Unfortunately, this is a wrong and false debate.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2009

Electoral Transparency in Afghanistan

By Don Snow

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the half-Tajik opthamologist who finished second in the first round of the Afghan presidential election and who led the push for this coming Saturday’s runoff, dropped out of the race Sunday. His stated reason for doing so was the Karzai government’s refusal to revamp the existing electoral process, and notably Karzai’s refusal […]

Afghanistan

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