Women activists protest in Germany against ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 1 : A group of women’s rights activists in Afghanistan have initiated a campaign to officially recognize “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, Khaama Press reported.
Tamana Zaryab Paryany and other European Afghan activists set up a protest camp in Wuppertal, Germany on Friday, inviting Afghan activists in Europe to join the campaign.
A statement on Paryany’s social media page read, “We call upon the conscience of women and all free individuals in Germany to stand with our sisters in Afghanistan and not allow the regime of gender apartheid to persist in Afghanistan.”
Notably, these women’s rights activists had previously gone on a hunger strike by setting up a protest camp in Cologne, Germany, from September 10-22, Khaama Press reported.
They also negotiated with representatives of the German government, the US, and the United Nations, but these negotiations have yet to satisfy their demands, as per Khaama Press.
Earlier, Paryany had issued a statement detailing her meeting with
a representative of the German Foreign Ministry. She had passionately conveyed the concerns and messages of Afghan women, but to her disappointment, she has yet to receive a definitive response from the ministry, Khaama Press reported.
This lack of a clear response underscored the urgent need for international attention and action to address the pressing issues facing Afghan women and girls.
Last month, the United Nations held a session to recognize the “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule.
Recently, a group of women known as the “Window of Hope Women’s Movement of Afghanistan” has also called for the recognition of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan. They emphasized that the United Nations and human rights organizations breaking their silence and taking action to combat gender apartheid in Afghanistan are crucial, Khaama Press reported.
Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.
Afghanistan's women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.
A startling 80 per cent of Afghan girls and young women, who are of school-going age, are currently denied access to education under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a new report by Care International stated, according to Khaama Press.
It has been more than two years since girls above grade six have been prohibited from attending schools in Afghanistan, and it is unclear when those doors will reopen, Tolo News reported.
Afghanistan remains the only country to ban girls' and women's education, resulting in a substantial economic toll of approximately USD 5.4 billion.