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The international community needs to take urgent action to ensure Afghan women and girls across all ethnic and religious communities, in urban and rural areas, feel safe and have equal rights and opportunities to a life of dignity, peace, safety and justice.

To achieve this overarching goal, and to ensure that there is no regression in the context of the impending humanitarian crisis, international actors need to take steps to accomplish the following four key outcomes:

Outcome I: Afghan women and girls across all communities and in urban and rural areas – including female-headed households – receive the humanitarian aid they need, including but not limited to food, shelter, heating, and health care.

Actions for the international community:

A. Design clear gender-responsive plans to deliver humanitarian aid to women, girls, men and boys in religious, ethnic, and other minority communities across all of Afghanistan, in consultation with women leaders of Afghan civil society organizations.

B. Ensure aid programmes address the health, sanitation, reproductive, and nutritional needs of women and girls.

C. Include senior women officials and personnel with understanding of Afghanistan’s local languages and cultural context in international humanitarian delegations. Ensure UN missions have UN women representation.

D. Guarantee inclusion of Afghan women with experience in aid delivery in negotiations with Taliban representatives and local consultations.

E. Support access to cash transfer programs to Afghan families, targeting women and female headed households.

Demands for the Taliban:

a. Allow safe passage for aid to be delivered to all Afghans, including women and girls, particularly those in religious and ethnic minority communities.

Outcome II: All violence against the Afghan population, especially women, girls, and minorities ends, including but not limited to instances of forced marriage and gender-based violence in private and public settings.

Actions for the international community:

A. Systematically monitor, publicize, and inform organizational leadership of emerging reports of violence, such as reports of forced marriage.

B. Ensure gender-based violence prevention and response services are prioritized and funded.

C. Fund and maintain shelters and safehouses for Afghan women and girls at elevated risk of violence.

D. Report human rights violations through UN Special Procedures to the Human Rights Council and the ICC.

Demands for the Taliban:

a. Issue, publicly announce, and enforce a new decree that expressly prohibits violence, harassment, threats, exploitation against the Afghan population, especially against women, girls, and minorities.

b. Arrest and charge those who violate or disrespect women verbally, physically, or sexually.

c. Enforce measures against forced marriage, which violates Islamic Sharia and is a crime against humanity. Respect divorces and the request for divorce.

Outcome III: Afghan women and girls continue to get an education, access public life, and go to work, including equal participation in legal, judicial, and security sectors.

Actions for the international community:

A. Systematically monitor, publicize and inform organizational leadership of changes to Afghan women and girls’ rights, opportunities to work, attend school, access healthcare, access bank accounts, own property, move and travel freely, and fill leadership roles.

Demands for the Taliban:

a. Immediately lift restrictions on women and girls’ freedom of movement, such as requirements to have a Mahram to go to work, access public life and services.

b. Give all Afghans safe and unfettered access to their bank accounts, savings, and services like Western Union to enable direct cash transfers.

c. Guarantee the security, protection, and ability to receive and retain salaries for women working in legal, judicial, security, and civil society sectors.

d. Reverse the reduction of women’s salaries, e.g. of teachers’ salaries in Herat.

e. Guarantee women and girls’ access to education from early childhood through university.

Outcome IV: Afghan civil society organizations, including women-led organizations, continue their work safely and sustainably.

Actions for the international community:

A. Hire diverse Afghan civil society organizations, including women-led organizations, to provide for the health, education, livelihoods, and security of their communities.

B. Ensure civil society organizations have access to secure communication and protection mechanisms.

C. Fund Afghan civil society organizations, including women-led organizations, by providing long- term flexible funding not tied to specific activities.

Demands for the Taliban:

a. Issue, publicly announce, and enforce a new decree that guarantees the protection of the life and property, and the freedom of movement of the staff and leaders of Afghan civil society organizations, including women-led civil organizations.

Signatories:

International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)

Ahmad Masood Amer
Executive Director, Centre for Afghanistan Policy Studies

Humira Saqib
Director, Afghan News Agency Association

Women Peace Study Organization (WPSO)

Sonia Ahmadi
Founder and CEO, Afghan-Norwegian Women for Change in Norway

Humaira Rasuli
Human Rights Lawyer/ Activist

Marina LeGree
Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics

Women’s Regional Network: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India

People Serving Girls At Risk

Najla Ayoubi

Just Like My Child Foundation