8 March, International Women Day

Leiden, 06-03-2026

Subject: 8 March, International Women Day /Women in Afghanistan

Dear Sir or Madam,

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we write on behalf of the Federation of Afghan Resident Organizations in Europe (FAROE) to express our profound concern and disappointment regarding the continued and systematic oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

For more than four years, Afghan women have been subjected to policies that amount to the institutionalized erasure of women from public life. Girls have been banned from secondary schools and universities, women have been removed from most forms of employment, and restrictive decrees have confined them to their homes and severely limited their freedom of movement and participation in society. These measures represent one of the most extreme cases of gender-based discrimination in the world today.

Despite repeated statements of concern by the international community, including the European Union, the reality on the ground has not improved. From our perspective, the current level of political pressure and diplomatic engagement has proven insufficient to compel the Taliban authorities to reverse these oppressive policies. This situation has given the Taliban the courage to introduce unprecedented criminalizations against women in their unpublished criminal code, and to consider male violence in the family punishable only if the woman is injured.

At a time when Afghan women are courageously resisting these injustices—often at great personal risk—it is deeply troubling that stronger and more coordinated international pressure has not been mobilized. The continued normalization of diplomatic engagement without tangible improvements in women’s rights risks sending the wrong message: that systematic gender discrimination can persist without meaningful consequences.

We therefore urge the European Union to take a more principled and decisive stance by:

• Intensifying diplomatic and political pressure on the Taliban leadership.
• Ensuring that any form of political engagement or humanitarian cooperation is strictly conditioned on measurable improvements in women’s rights.
• Supporting international initiatives aimed at holding the Taliban accountable for gender-based persecution.
• Amplifying the voices of Afghan women’s organizations and activists in all international discussions concerning Afghanistan.

The defense of women’s rights is not only a humanitarian obligation but also a fundamental test of the international community’s commitment to human rights and gender equality.

On this International Women’s Day, we call upon the European Union to demonstrate stronger leadership and to stand firmly with the women and girls of Afghanistan, whose basic rights to education, work, and dignity continue to be denied.

History will judge the response of the international community in this critical moment. We hope the European Union will act with the urgency and determination that this situation demands.

Sincerely,

On behalf of Ali Daliry, president of FAROE,

A.R. Faquiri, head of External Affairs Committee