The Women’s Rights Crisis in Afghanistan and the Aftermath of the Ban on Girls' Education

On 16 September, the conference „The Women’s Rights Crisis in Afghanistan and the Aftermath of the Ban on Girls' Education“, organised by the Embassy and Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Vienna, took place at the Bruno Kreisky Forum.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, women and girls have experienced an unprecedented erosion of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Through a series of restrictive policies and decrees, they have been systematically excluded from education, employment, public life and access to many public spaces, creating a system of institutionalised discrimination that affects nearly every aspect of their lives. Women human rights defenders, journalists, activists and peaceful protesters have also been subjected to intimidation, arbitrary detention and other serious human rights violations.

The event sought to renew international attention on the ongoing human rights crisis in Afghanistan, with particular emphasis on the devastating impact of the ban on girls' education within the broader context of the country’s deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation. It aimed to amplify the voices and experiences of women and girls in Afghanistan; to examine the humanitarian, social, economic and security implications of current policies; to reaffirm Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations; and to strengthen the international commitment to supporting the restoration and protection of the rights of all Afghans – particularly women and girls – to education, dignity, equality and meaningful participation in society.

Photo: Masiha Akrami, First Secretary at the Embassy and Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Wolfgang Petritsch, President of the Board of Governors of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Brian Flynn, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OSCE, Manizha Bakhtari, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan in Vienna, Edit Schlaffer, Founder and Chair of Women Without Borders, Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan