Opinion: Afghan women, girls want an education but we can’t fight alone

The United Nations is a common home for all nations to be heard and to be protected. In this opinion piece, Afghan women's rights advocate Simin Haidary is asking that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be upheld in Afghanistan, not violated.

By Simin Haidary // 01 March 2023

Is being an Afghan woman a crime for which I am to be suspended of my fundamental human rights on the international stage?

The elimination of women’s rights, specifically in education and the workplace is a major focus for the Taliban in Afghanistan. If the United Nations and the world do not recognize this emergency and take action, it is a deep disrespect to Afghan women and girls and to the Afghan community.

Female educators, women rights activists, and women protestors threaten the growth of the Taliban regime, leading them to suffer punishment and persecution: Women have been shot in public, stoned in public, and whipped in public. They have been killed, their bodies have been cut into pieces, and they have been raped just because they have stood up for education and their very basic human rights.

More reading:

► Underfunded and restricted: The struggle of Afghan women’s rights NGOs

► Hosna Jalil: Witness to the rise and fall of Afghan women

► Opinion: By failing Afghan women, we are failing women everywhere

The views in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect Devex's editorial views.

About the author

Simin Haidary
Simin Haidary is a women's rights advocate from Afghanistan. She is a social entrepreneur who is working with women to discover their true potential. She believes that an Afghan woman will shine beyond her survival mode if she learns to unlearn herself.