Women's Movement towards freedom
Resolution of the Women’s Movement Toward Freedom, On the Fifth Anniversary of the Fall of Afghanistan and the Taliban’s Return to Power
15 August 2026
ACTIVITIES
8/14/20262 min read
15 August, marking the fifth anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power, is a reminder of one of the darkest and most painful chapters in our country’s contemporary history. Over the past five years, Afghanistan has witnessed the systematic destruction of the people’s hard-won achievements, particularly those of women, girls, youth, and all advocates of freedom.
On this historic day, the Women’s Movement Toward Freedom, while honoring the resilience and steadfast resistance of Afghanistan’s women, declares that the Taliban’s rule lacks popular legitimacy. Through its systematic violations of human rights, suppression of fundamental freedoms, exclusion of women from social, educational, economic, and political life, and the imposition of gender-based discrimination, it has turned Afghanistan into a vast prison for millions of its citizens.
We believe that the resistance of Afghanistan’s women embodies hope, courage, and a determination that no tyranny can silence. The voices of women who have fought for freedom in the streets, in their homes, in prisons, and in exile have become the voice of the world’s awakened conscience.
On the fifth anniversary of Afghanistan’s fall, the Women’s Movement Toward Freedom declares the following:
We condemn the Taliban’s rule for its lack of popular legitimacy, its widespread violations of human rights, and its discriminatory policies against women and minority communities.
We call for the Taliban’s policies against women to be recognized as gender apartheid, and for those responsible for these crimes to be held legally accountable through international mechanisms.
We urge the United Nations, governments, human rights organizations, and the international community not to remain silent in the face of Afghanistan’s ongoing crisis and to refrain from any normalization of relations with the Taliban without guarantees of the Afghan people’s fundamental rights.
We reaffirm the fundamental rights of Afghanistan’s women and girls to education, employment, political participation, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and equality, and we demand the immediate removal of all restrictions imposed upon them.
We call upon all pro-democracy forces, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, independent media, and women’s movements around the world to stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan and support their struggle for freedom and equality.
We believe that Afghanistan’s future can only be secured through the equal participation of all its citizens, respect for human rights, justice, democracy, and the rule of law not through tyranny, extremism, and the exclusion of half of society.
On this day, we honor the memory of all victims of violence, repression, and discrimination. We once again pledge to continue the struggle for freedom, equality, justice, and human dignity until the full rights of the people of Afghanistan are realized.
Freedom is our right.
Equality is our right.
A free Afghanistan without discrimination and without tyranny is our shared aspiration.
Women’s Movement toward Freedom
Kabul, Afghanistan
15 August 2026
Unitis
info@women-mtf.org
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