Women and Girls in Afghanistan: 5 years of Resistance, Solidarity and the search for Accountability | Goals Lounge

Excellencies, distinguished panelists, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Gold Slouch. And thank you for joining us for this important discussion on women and girls in Afghanistan, five years of resistance, solidarity, and the search for accountability. As we mark five years since the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan remains at a critical juncture. The challenges facing the country are substantial, and the status and rights of women and girls continue to command the attention of the international community. This event offers an important opportunity to take stock of developments and to hear diverse perspectives. We will explore avenues for sustained international engagement in support of human rights, inclusion, and the wellbeing of the Afghan people. We are grateful to all of our speakers and participants for contributing to this timely conversation, and we look forward to a rich and substantive exchange. Gai Su, the floor is yours.

Excellencies and distinguished delegates, welcome to this beautiful space. Today you will hear directly from young Afghan girls inside Afghanistan, from women of Afghanistan, from the world, and UN leaders and civil society experts. But before we begin, allow me to set the scene. Over five years, over 200 decrees, laws, and orders have been imposed, reaching every aspect of a woman's life inside Afghanistan. Girls have been denied secondary education and beyond. Women have been excluded from most forms of employment and banned from entering UN premises. Their freedom of movement, participation in public life, and fundamental rights to expression and development have been eviscerated. Each year has brought something worse. In 2024, the law on the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice entrenched and expanded these restrictions, barring women from showing their faces outside, speaking in public, and leaving their homes without a male guardian. In January 2026, the so-called penal code deepened a discriminatory judicial system, effectively recognizing slavery and sanctioning domestic violence. And in May, the code of judicial separation of spouses recognized child marriage. This is an institutionalized regime of gender oppression as gender apartheid, and the consequences will not end with this generation. Nearly 80% of young women, young Afghan women, are now outside education, employment, or training. UN Women projects raising child marriage, early childbearing, and maternal mortality. This is not only about the rights of women and girls today. It's about the future of Afghanistan and the future of gender equality worldwide. For me, this is personal. I experienced child marriage as a young girl, and the Taliban kidnapped my father, who never returned to this day, and it has been 26 years. I know what it means when decisions about your education, your marriage, your body, and your future are made for you. I also know what it means to resist those decisions, to fight for your education, to reclaim your choices, and to believe that your life can take a different path. And for five years, the women and girls of Afghanistan have resisted. They have taught behind closed doors. They have organized and protested. They have documented violations and demanded justice. They have created art. They have worked where they were told not to. But while they resist, some in the international community are backsliding towards normalization, hosting Taliban officials, entering agreements, and emboldening the Taliban to deepen their gender apartheid regime. Our partners from inside Afghanistan have asked us to help their voices break through. They told us, quote, Do not let the deprivation of Afghan women and girls become a normalized and accepted situation." End quote. "Do not speak on our behalf. Instead, give us the opportunity to raise our own voices to the world." End quote. So before I hand this conversation over to our esteemed moderator, Soumya, from BBC News, chief anchor in Washington, DC, I would like to invite you to hear directly from a couple of girls inside Afghanistan After the clip, Somi will start the conversation. Thank you very much.

I find hope and smiles that follow my tears. I find hopes in small but powerful things and the voice of a woman who refused to give up. This period of my life, it's so hard for me, but the thing gives me hope. And this hard time is that I meet incredible people like you, and it reminds me that there's a way, there's a hope, and that I can achieve my dreams.

Thank you, everyone, for being here and for listening to that incredible clip of voices of Afghan women and girls. This is an opportunity for all of us to get together and speak about the socioeconomic, the humanitarian, and human rights crises facing Afghanistan and how to keep women and girls centered in that discussion, especially this week here at the United Nations. So with no further ado, I'd like to introduce my panelists who need no introduction. To my left, I'm happy to have with us today, Ms. Helen McEntee, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland. And to my right, Malala Yousafzai, co-founder and executive chair of the Malala Fund. So welcome to you both. And Malala, I wanna start with you. We heard from Gisu in that introduction and in those voices there. Five years carries an enormous burden for the women and girls who have been living under this regime and under the incredible restrictions that they're facing, being erased from public life. What does it mean for this generation to be living in that world for this time?

Afghan girls are denied their future, but they are resilient and they are resisting the Taliban's oppressive regime of gender apartheid. In these five years, I have had the opportunity to speak with some Afghan girls. Some of these girls are part of underground secret schools. And one girl was telling me that even reading a book alone in her room is an act of resistance for her. Afghan women are not allowed to participate in politics, be in sports, be in arts, or even be outside in a public park or see a doctor without a male chaperon. The Taliban are controlling each and every movement and part of their life. And I always remind people that this is beyond just gender discrimination or gender persecution. This is an institutionalized form of domination where the Taliban are punishing women if they dare to disobey their rules. Girls are scared to step outside their homes because the Taliban beat women, they put them in prisons, for daring to disobey their oppressive laws. But I also see the resistance of these incredible Afghan women in the country, outside the country, from the Afghan women's soccer team who advocated for five years to be recognized by FIFA to represent their country. The same is the story of the Afghan women's cricket team in exile. We have stories of the Afghan women's robotics team and Afghan women artists, singers. These are not just numbers. These women had built their careers. They had worked so hard to get their education, to be able to go to work, to be able to represent their people in the parliament. And the Taliban took all of that from them just overnight. So when we talk about Afghan women and their rights, we are not just talking about sort of, you know, like they were nobody and we are supposed to save them. No, they had worked for decades to get that visibility, to have rights. And the world is now looking away. The world has sort of moved on. But I hope that opportunities like that we have today, we are able to bring attention to the activism of Afghan women and to their call to action, which is to recognize what's happening there as a gender apartheid. This is systemic oppression against women and girls, and we have to call it what it is.

Can I ask you about a word that you used there, resilience? I spoke to an Afghan woman who's an activist helping women and girls in Afghanistan, and she said, sometimes we're tired of being resilient. We don't want to have to be so strong. So in the conversations that you have, how are they keeping hope going?

Sisterhood means so much to our Afghan sisters because, you know, it's they're not they're all they're asking us is is a platform. They want their voices to be valued and to be heard. But most importantly, it's those decision rooms where world leaders are inviting the Taliban and they're determining the future of women. And they are excluding Afghan women and girls from those rooms. So one thing that we have to reiterate is that we should not normalize relationships with the Taliban. We should not give them any recognition. And Afghan women have to be in those rooms where decisions about their future are made. We cannot make any compromise on protecting the rights of girls. We have given enough time to the Taliban, five years is a long time for us to know who they are. Afghan women were screaming right when they took control that we should not, we should trust Afghan women more than we should trust the Taliban. It's as simple. We have seen, we have known who the Taliban are. Their actions show it to us. There is a list of more than 200 decrees and edicts that they have issued where they have now legally allowed for child marriage to happen. As the silence of a girl is taken as consent for marriage. A girl cannot step into a classroom. It is illegal for her to pick up a book. Isn't that enough for us to know who they are? So I want leaders to trust Afghan women more. And don't just tell us that they believe in feminism and they have feminist foreign policies and they're big advocates of gender equality when they are not being able to do anything for women in the most oppressive regime that we can ever imagine, ever see in our life. So I hope that people really act on what they say. And in any of this, there's no confusion. Just bring Afghan women, make sure they are in the rooms where decisions about their future are made, and that they are following the lead of Afghan women.

Minister, that I think is a good point to come to you and ask you about the women, peace, and security agenda. It is now over 25 years old, but it has faced a bit of a pushback. How do you continue to underline why it is important and also to view the situation in Afghanistan through the prism of this important agenda?

Thank you so much, Sumi, for being here. And it's an absolute honor to join Malala for this discussion and to acknowledge the unbelievable amount of work that you have done in highlighting and advocating for Afghan women and women all over the world. For me, it is so important that not just this week and not just through this forum, but that we use every platform available to us politically and in every other way to not just show solidarity, but to respond through our actions to the absolute atrocities that are happening. And it's been said numerous times, I mean, every single basic human right has been taken away from women and girls in Afghanistan. And so to simply talk about it is not good enough and we need to act. And I hope after today, there is more that we will be able to do together, but you've talked about the women and peace and security agenda, which is 25 years old. And I mean, that is and was formed on the basis that women play such a significant role in security and peace and peace building and conflict resolution. And we saw that ourselves in our own country, in Ireland, through the Good Friday Agreement, through our own peace process. While it's often not spoken about enough and women's roles have often been erased, the role that women play in peacebuilding and security is quite significant. And that's what the agenda has been built on. And that's what we very much had to the fore in our own UN Security Council mandate in 2021 and 22. And how we saw it in effect is exactly as Malala and others have said, by ensuring that women's voices are to the fore in decision that has been taken, you end up with a better outcome. So through the advocacy with the UN and during our time on the Security Council, women's leadership voices from Afghanistan meant that the mission that was then deployed on the ground had the voices of women and their knowledge and their understanding, which was key to that mission being successful. Now, obviously, there was a lot of work to make sure that it was renewed again this summer, but it's essential. that that remains to the fore. We also used it to make sure that we were able to block an attempt to essentially allow members of the Taliban who had been sanctioned to travel. If Afghan women can't travel, how can members of the Taliban who are sanctioned as well as everything else be able to travel? How do we put it into practical actions? More recently, as well, with the UN looking at how we can have more accountability mechanisms. For me, and this is something that will come up time and time again this week, we can gather information and evidence to the types of crimes that are being committed, but how do we make sure that people are held accountable? It is about putting those structures in place and making sure that Afghan women's voices are to the fore of everything that we do. That is what underpins the women, peace and security strategy. It is that women are front and centre, that their voices are heard and that they are driving every single action that we undertake. We need to keep that to the fore. this has gone off the agenda. It shouldn't be. It is there, and I think we're talking about it in personal circles. I'm on WhatsApp groups with cousins and girls and friends who are all horrified when we see the next decree that's applied and the next decree that takes away another right. But it's not enough to be appalled. We need to, in our political circles, myself as minister, all of our ministerial colleagues, all of us outside of Afghanistan, we need to be responding to our actions and creating these types of platforms for women's voices to be heard.

I want to follow up on what Malala had said a moment ago and ask you, how does Ireland as a country navigate the difficult task of wanting to support people in Afghanistan? I mentioned the humanitarian crisis there, while also at the same time not normalizing or recognizing the Taliban.

I suppose, firstly, we just have to make sure, I mean, this is a crisis for women and girls, but there's also a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan at the moment, there are millions of people that are facing and are in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. So we need to make sure that we continue our support. We've provided about 20 million euro directly over the last number of years. We need to continue to provide that funding. We need to continue to advocate for others to provide that funding at a time where unfortunately we're seeing a pullback on that type of humanitarian support. We need to make sure that we continue to work with trusted actors on the ground. It's extremely important that we're working directly with those that we know will deliver that support to people on the ground. And we need to make sure as well that we advocate for humanitarian workers that are now being prevented from accessing those who need that support, in particular female humanitarian actors. We need to make sure we can keep it on the agenda. So Ireland hosts the presidency of the Council of the European Union at the moment. And so we have an opportunity during our time to make sure that this issue remains firmly on the agenda and that the EU can take stronger action in our support and our advocacy. We didn't support the recent actions which led to a delegation travelling to Brussels. I don't think that should have happened. It normalises it. I mean, what's changed for us to engage with them in the way that that happened? And so I think we shouldn't in any way recognise the Taliban. We shouldn't be engaging with them. We should be engaging with our trusted partners on the ground that we can trust to deliver these types of supports. And finally, it is about finding a way for people to be held accountable. And that is one of the biggest challenges. I've just come from a number of different events where we're talking about international law, where we're talking about international human rights. We can diagnose the problem, but if we don't then respond by holding people accountable, Where do we go from here? After this meeting and so much of this week, where so much of these issues will be discussed, it is about figuring out how we can hold people accountable and how we can move the dial and make things better for women and girls on the ground, most importantly.

Taking that next step and moving it forward. The Minister was just speaking about ensuring that this issue remains in the spotlight. How do you do that? You come to the United Nations General Assembly, and there are so many issues on the agenda. How do you ensure that the plight of women and girls, and Afghanistan in general, the humanitarian crisis it's facing, stays at the center of the dialogue?

We're here to ask leaders to not forget about Afghan women. We are here to call them to stand in solidarity with Afghan women and girls. I think we also need to address some of the hesitancies that leaders are facing. One thing that I want to make clear is that the Taliban are actually a byproduct or a product of Western intervention, and it's also not representative of the local people of Afghanistan. The Taliban are not elected by the women, by the men of the country. Secondly, when we talk about gender apartheid, We're not just talking about the atrocities and the injustices that Afghan women are facing. We're also talking about how it affects men and boys in the community as well, the violence and the oppression that they are facing. So it is harming and hurting the country in every possible way. We cannot imagine a future for Afghanistan when half of the population is held back. It is a loss to these girls individually, but it is a loss to the country as well. It's half a decade of oppression. Every passing day matters, and we hope that leaders will recognize the urgency of their support and their action in standing up with Afghan women. This cannot be delayed a single day. So I hope that they will step up, they will talk more openly about it. So both approaches are really important. One is more on the political and on the international law side, and that is the recognition of gender apartheid, making it included in the crime against humanity treaty, because we need protection for women and girls in Afghanistan, but we need protection for women and girls everywhere. If this can happen in Afghanistan and the world chooses to look away, this means the world is less safe for women and girls. This is a reminder to all of us that there is no gender equality if we are not given any protection and defense against systemic oppression, against institutionalized domination over women. And then on the other hand, we also need to socialize this term a bit more. We want more of you, more of our partners, we want more countries to say it out loud that this is a gender apartheid regime, the Taliban have left no option for Afghan women to seek justice as they are in control of the police, of court systems. They are actually using all of those powers to They punish women if they dare to disobey any of the rules. A woman is seen stepping outside the home or going to a park or seeing a doctor, or she's the breadwinner of the family and she has no options but to go and find a way of living, the Taliban are punishing them. There are stories of women who have disappeared and have not been seen since then. And the women who are providing alternative education in this very difficult situation are facing threats. Their workers are being kidnapped and arrested by the Taliban. So it's not easy work that Afghan women are doing. And I understand the frustration when Afghan women are told that they are resilient and brave, which they are, but also like, why have we left it to them? They are supposed to be now doing it all on their own. It is our responsibility to tell them that we are there with them, we stand in solidarity with them. I feel very humble in front of the atrocities that Afghan women have faced, but even just me as one girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for simply saying that I want to be in school, the world connected and related with my story. I want them to know that this is not a unique story at all. I raised my voice because I wanted the world to know that this is happening to girls in parts of Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in many other corners of the world where girls are resilient and brave and they want to be in school, they want to have a future, but there are men, there are institutions who are targeting women. They're so scared of women that they are using every possible way from their institutional power to violence, literally putting a gun on their head to stop them, to silence them. We should not be cowards. We should not be allowing it to happen. You know, this just shows that Our commitment to gender equality means absolutely nothing if we fail to take action and change things. So I appreciate the positive momentum. I really appreciate the support of countries from Ireland to Mexico to Iceland to Spain and many others. But I think there's more that needs to be done, and I hope that we see that real victory, which is the day when Afghan girls will be able to re-enter their classrooms, where women will be back in the parliament, where Afghan women will be able to play on a cricket field and kick a ball on a football field, and they will be in the place which they have worked so hard for and they deserve to have that human dignity. So that's the day we all want to see for Afghan women.

I think that's a wonderful note to close this first discussion on. So thank you so much, Malala, Minister, for that really rich discussion. And at this point, I think it is a good point, again, to hear some voices once again of Afghan women and girls telling us about their experiences. Thank you. Thank you.

It didn't matter what I was wearing or how I covered my head. Whether I was going to school or visiting relatives, I could leave the house without fear and my family never stopped me. I must wear a long hijab and I have followed many rules just to go outside. It is the right to walk outside without fear, to learn without barriers, and to speak without trembling. And it is the ability to shape my own future and not have it decided for me. To walk to my aunt's house on the other side of the village.

Well, I have a second panel, very important discussion to follow up on the voices that we just heard there. To my right is Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. And to my left, Mehtra Mehran, founder of Afghanistan Accountability Collective. Welcome both, thank you very much. And Volker, I wanna start with you because we were just hearing from both the minister and Malala about some of the action points that need to be taken. and not only on the humanitarian crisis, but also on the human rights initiative. So I want to ask you, how can the international community advance a human rights initiative at the center of what it is intending to do in Afghanistan, especially this week?

Well, first of all, it's very important that this discussion is taking place here at the UN General Assembly, because I have found that we have not talked enough about the situation, about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, and in particular, how it affects women and girls. And I think what Malala was just saying is really important. It is a matter of international concern if we have a country with very clear obligations. They have very clear obligations under international human rights law. They violate them in the most blatant manner. and have established essentially a gender apartheid regime. And I think it is important, I also use the terminology gender apartheid, 'cause I think we need to show it what is actually happening there. You cannot suppress half of the population through at least 200 decrees that has normalized essentially a subjugation and a domination of women and girls by the de facto authorities, by the Taliban, which with incredible consequences. So what the international, what from our perspective, first of all, more international attention, but also consistency in the way they engage with Afghanistan, because when human rights are not at the core of this discussion, and I think the minister just mentioned the process example, when there is engagement, it cannot just be on one issue, it cannot be about return, By the way, I have huge issues when it comes to return. It cannot be only about humanitarian assistance. It cannot only be about normalization. It part and parcel of the discussion has to be a comprehensive view of human rights. And it absolutely needs to be at the core of particular the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, because it affects us all. I think there is a broader story to be told. We cannot just pay lip service to gender equality, we actually have to live it. and Afghanistan in the 21st century that we have one country that does what it is doing with impunity is really shocking.

And as Malala said, sets a precedent for other countries to try to carry out similar gender apartheid. Meitra, I want to come to you now. We've talked already about the resilience of Afghan women and girls. We heard a voice of a young girl saying, her voice trembles when she speaks because they've been so silenced. Can you share with us what political solutions look like for Afghanistan right now that better center those voices that we heard?

Thank you. I'm very honored to be here and in a room with powerful allies with us. First and foremost, recognizing and respecting the political agency of women of Afghanistan and acting upon their demands and asks, as simple as that. Because our demands and asks are shaped by our lived experiences. And we know what worked for us. We know what have failed us. And we know what we want for Afghanistan or what Afghanistan we want to see in the future. And if we do not design any political processes for Afghanistan that is not shaped by the demand of women of Afghanistan, we set it actually to fail. Because between 1996 to 2001, that happened, and that's where we are. As Malala and Gisu clearly explained, And we constantly monitor the situation in Afghanistan through Afghanistan Justice Archive. There is a totalizing system of oppression in place where women and girls are stripped of every right. And what they call the situation and how they describe their experiences as gender apartheid. And I think if we go through any political processes without recognition of gender apartheid, we are not addressing the problem. We are just addressing the symptoms. And that's why I asked this question, what we want out of any political processes. And Most importantly, I think lack of clarity from international community in the past five years has created a space of distrust and disappointment among women of Afghanistan. For example, Doha process that was set up to reintegrate Afghanistan into the international system failed. And I was there in Doha. And international community decided to exclude women of Afghanistan and civil society of Afghanistan at cost of participation of the Taliban. Also, the Mosaic process, they tried to use it to create a political roadmap for Afghanistan, and it similarly failed. Women of Afghanistan have been raising their concerns about UNOMA, application of UNOMA mandate as it deserves in the larger UN offices in Afghanistan because women are not allowed within UN premises. And the question and the concern is, is UN respecting its own charter and principles inside the country? So those are all the issues that we think all of those processes didn't work because they didn't deflect the demands of women of Afghanistan. It doesn't reflect the realities of inside because we know what worked for us, the simple and easy question is, you just need to listen to them and give them center rule in any political processes going forward.

And on that point of listening to the women and girls, you briefed the UN Security Council member states earlier this year, and I highly recommend reading through Mitra's solution. It really provides a pathway for what the international community can do. What do you expect from the United Nations going forward?

First and foremost clarity on their political solution towards Afghanistan. What does that mean? We are women are there and they shouldn't compromise, principle engagement for practical engagement or pragmatism. Second, I think it's very important that all the states and international community should refrain from any diplomatic or political engagement that can help recognition or normalization of the Taliban regime. Second one is, I think no political solution can help Afghanistan or international community if it doesn't deflect or contain the justice and accountability pathways. Women of Afghanistan have been utilizing those mechanisms, including International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, and IIIM, Independent Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan, that we really need all the states to fund it and ensure that it's resourced and operationalized, and most importantly, support the codification of gender apartheid. So far, we have 14 countries who have endorsed codification of gender apartheid or shown support. qualification of gender apartheid in the crimes against humanity treaty. I ask all the other states to join them. But also, I think, ensure that that terminology, because it can encompass the totality of Taliban's regime or in experience of women of Afghanistan, to use it to create the political will and mobilization we need for Afghanistan to go forward. And because we are sitting in context of UNGA, I think the most important that we need to consider and discuss is there is so many laws and mechanisms that promise women everywhere in the world that they stand and support and protect women's rights. In Afghanistan, it's the worst case scenario. And this is the example of can global community deliver on the promises they are legally obligated, have obligated themselves. And lastly, women of Afghanistan have put their faith in international law because we don't have any other option. A girl who haven't been to school in the past five years cannot afford not to believe and have faith in international law. So I think it's our obligation and everyone's obligation to deliver on that promise.

What do you think about that message from Volker from the perspective of the United Nations? I mean, that's a very clear message that international law The UN has a job to do here, and particularly on that message of justice and accountability, which the minister brought up as well.

I have absolutely no doubt that the accountability avenue is extremely important. And let's not forget, we have two indictments by the International Criminal Court against the Supreme Leader and against the Chief Justice. They were issued last year. At the same time, we see an incredible weakening of the international criminal justice system. I mean, with the sanctions against the ICC, I'm extremely worried because that is a tool that the international community has at its disposal precisely in this type of circumstances. I hope that at some stage, those two who are indicted will be arrested and will be brought to justice. The other thing is universal jurisdiction. So you have the possibility in those countries that allow universal jurisdiction to arrest people if they have committed crimes against humanity. And by the way, the ICC indictments were based on crimes against humanity of persecution on the basis of gender. And it's the first time that this was actually established by the ICC. I think we should, I fully agree with you that we should go further and it would be great to have gender apartheid reflected in the crimes against humanity discussions that are going on at the moment. We also have the independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan that we are establishing as we speak because we need to keep documenting, monitoring, documenting, creating the evidence, preserving the evidence so that any future accountability mechanisms can actually serve this. Because it is a very slippery slope if we allow one country to get away with this type of regime, especially in the current gender pushback that we are all experiencing, because it goes, unfortunately, even beyond Afghanistan. We see a massive gender pushback, very well connected, very well funded, and It's almost as if some were trying to turn the clock back, and not just in Afghanistan or in Asia Pacific, frankly, in all continents. And the reaction, so we have to resist the beginnings. And in a way, Afghanistan becomes almost a symbol of the attempt to make sure that one of the biggest movements of human rights, which is feminism and the emancipation of women and girls, is one that it cannot be rolled back under no circumstances. But there are very strong, very powerful interests to do precisely this at the moment. So accountability, Afghanistan, actually fits into a much bigger picture of what we experience in the world today.

Are the member states, do you think, outside of this room listening to that message?

I think there are, especially-- I mean, of course, not all, I have to say, but within those member states, you have women who go into politics, who go into public office, they are often vilified in social media. There's a lot of hate speech and misogyny happening, unfortunately. But we need to stand up against it. And I mean, what is the most effective tool that we have? It is human rights. Because human rights are legal obligations. They are carriers of hope. But they also give us precisely that force that we have within ourselves, not only to be resilient, but also to resist and fight back.

Fighting back. I think on that note, Volker and Metra, thank you both so much for that discussion. Incredible description of the path forward. So appreciate your insights. Thank you.

Thank you.

There are member states, of course, in this room who have played a very important role in lending their weight to this dialogue, their support to this discussion, and keeping the human rights centered approach to Afghanistan. especially for women and girls. So I would like to welcome now brief interventions from some of those member states who are represented here, starting with Mexico and Jennifer Feller, the deputy permanent representative of Mexico to the United Nations.

Thank you very much. First of all, to Ireland and to the Malala Fund for keeping the discussion ongoing on this very important issue since the beginning. And of course, first, I want also to thank and say that for us, it's always an honor to be near such a group of inspiring women, Malala, Medra, Gizu. It's always good to see that they never give up in spite of whatever happens around. So thank you very much for that. Mexico is very proud to have been over the years committed to to these costs. As you know, in 24, we submitted together with a group of states the situation to the International Criminal Court. We are very happy about what you said, High Commissioner, exactly that the referrals are advancing and we have already some detention orders to some Taliban leaders. And Mexico As well, together with Timor-Leste and Iceland, we have submitted to the current negotiations of the Convention of Crimes Against Humanity to include a specific reference to gender apartheid as a unique crime. even if I repeat myself, in order not only to give justice and to stop this oppression today, but also as a matter of preventing this for the girls and women in all the world. This is not, as Malala says frequently, about only Afghan women. This is about everybody and all of the women in the world. So Mexico is proud to continue to work with you and stand with you all the way. Thank you.

Thank you. I would now invite Her Excellency Imma Torfaut, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Andorra.

Thank you. Thank you. And I also want to thank Ireland and the Malala Fund for convening this very important meeting on the dire situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, a situation that raises not only urgent questions of human rights and gender equality, but also, that has been said, challenges for the international community in terms of humanitarian needs and justice and accountability. Gender equality and particularly education of girls are among the main priorities of Andorra's external policy and action. That's why we remain extremely concerned by the severe restrictions Afghan women and girls have been undergoing for over five years now, simply for being born female. And the latest report of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan states that de facto, the Ministry of Justice continues to publish decrees undermining women's rights. As Secretary-General Guterres said in his statement on September 7, these measures not only hinder women's rights in Afghanistan, but also the country's economy and stability, as well as its reintegration into the international community. Andorra firmly stands with the UN in urging the Taliban authorities to reverse these prohibitions without delay, first of all because women deserve dignity, but also because we are convinced that women can contribute fully to efforts for peace and development. As we seek to advance towards a UN that delivers for all, keeping the situation of girls and women in Afghanistan at the top of the international agenda is absolutely essential. I thank you.

Thank you. I would now like to welcome Baroness Harriet Harman, UK's Special Envoy for Women and Girls.

Thank you. Thank you, Sumi. Firstly, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Permanent Mission of Ireland and the Malala Fund for hosting such a moving and really important event. It's an honor for me to attend, and I'm grateful to be able to hear from Afghan women on their experiences and their recommendations for how the international community can best support their rights, agency and future. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise the UK's continued commitment and support to Afghan women and girls. We are appalled by and unequivocally condemn the systemic restrictions that are imposed on women's and girls' rights, freedoms and participation. Their exclusion from all aspects of society is a violation of fundamental human rights. but also deeply harmful for Afghanistan's future prosperity, stability, and development. In the half a decade since the Taliban returned to power, the resilience of Afghan women and girls has been incredible. But as you said, Malala, resilience cannot be an answer to systemic extinction of rights. Afghan women and girls must be able to be active participants in the decisions that shape Afghanistan's future and their future. And any sustainable pathway to peace, stability and international engagement must include the participation, leadership and perspectives of Afghan women. We will not accept their exclusion. I want to emphasize the UK will continue to work with international partners, many of whom are represented in this room, to keep the rights of Afghan women and girls high on the international agenda. And it's why events such as this are crucial to ensure Afghan women are not forgotten. and to seek to identify practical actions that expand opportunities for Afghan women, particularly education, but also participation and leadership. Women cannot be excluded from Afghanistan's future. They're central to it. Thank you.

Thank you, Baroness. I'd now like to welcome Diego Martinez-Bello, the State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs of Spain.

First of all, thank you, Ireland and the UNLAF for setting up this time meeting. I think, and this has been said by the other participants, the situation in Afghanistan, the situation of women and discrimination, the radical discrimination against women in Afghanistan is a blemish on all humanity. And the policy of Spain derives from this simple statement. So this means, first of all, no normalization whatsoever, no contact, nothing. We are very careful to take no steps in dialogue, communication whatsoever that could be interpreted as normalizing or recognizing the Taliban regime, which is conducting systematic discrimination against half of its population. And as the other participant said, this is also something that can set a precedent for the discrimination of women around the world. We were, to say it diplomatically, taken aback by the meeting in Brussels. We will never take such a step. And the other aspect of our policy is accountability. So we've been taking several measures. First, we are organized a yearly meeting called HEARS with other women and international representatives, which is centered on the accountability for the crimes against humanity that are being committed against women in Afghanistan. We've been supporting the investigative mechanism in the Human Rights Council. We've been one of the six countries, along with our friends in Mexico, who have referred the gender apartheid to the ICC in 2024. And we, of course, support the definition of a standalone gender apartheid in the future Convention on Crimes Against Humanity. So we must, as the other participants said before, we must be very clear in our positions. We feel also there is a weakening of the will of the international community, and we will do our utmost to keep those two aspects of the policy, which is the right policy for Afghanistan and for Afghan women.

Thank you, State Secretary. And finally, Isabelle Rome, Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights of France.

Thank you, Malala. Thank you to Malala Fund. Thank you to the Republic of Iran for organizing this meeting. So five years after the Taliban's violent takeover, the situation of Afghan women and girls must absolutely remain a priority for our international community. I will not be too long, but I would like to recall France's strong commitment towards Afghan civilians, especially women and girls. France condemns the systematic violations of women's and girls' rights by the Taliban. We do not compromise on the rights of Afghan girls and women. We firmly condemn the Taliban's vice and virtue law, which is further illustration of the systematic assault on women and girls' rights. France ensures that references to women's rights are included in every resolution on Afghanistan. France has joined five other countries in the referring to the situation of women and girls' rights in Afghanistan to the ICC. we launched the Femme en Danger program, which has already enabled the resettlement in France of 750 vulnerable Afghan women whose rights and safety were directly threatened in 2024 and 2025. France supported the EU resolution that allowed for the creation of an investigative mechanism for Afghanistan of the ICRC last year, and we will continue to support its action. Seeking truth, justice, and fighting impunity is paramount. The world is currently beset by numerous crises, of which women and girls are the first victims. In the flood of dramatic news we face, we must never forget the plight of Afghan women. We must continue to give them our voices, denounce the violations they are facing, name them for what they are, prosecute them, and condemn them. We must also ensure that Afghan women and girls remain at the heart of all our responses. Whether it be peace, security, or humanitarian aid, women's rights are never secondary nor conditional, but inseparable from a just, stable, and sustainable international order. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Rom. And to all of the member states for your interventions and your contributions. And a hearty thanks from me as well. Before we go, we've heard from inspiring activists, Malala, Gisu, Maitra. And I think it's fitting then to end with another Afghan rights activist who is incredibly inspiring in the work that she does. So I'll leave the floor now to Asila Vardak.

Thank you so much. I think it's a symbol of being alone, Afghan woman. I hope you are not leaving us alone. Excellencies, Minister, distinguished colleagues, I thank Ireland, especially Minister Alan McEntee and the Malala Fund, Malala for her unwavering support for girls' education, our distinguished speakers, and all member states and partners present here today. Five years ago in October, I addressed the UN on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. After that speech, delegates, diplomats, and member states representatives came to me with tears, embraced me, and expressed their solidarity with the Afghan women. A year later, they asked me, what can we do for Afghan women? The third year, they asked again, the fourth year, again. Each time, Afghan women answered with pragmatic solutions and concrete recommendations and proposals. Five years have passed. Girls are still denied secondary education. Women are still denied higher education and restricted from employment, public and political life, and the exercise of their fundamental freedom. What once shocked the world is becoming normalized. while the international response has become less urgent. So do not ask us again, what can we do for you? We have told you, now please act on it. From the smallest local spaces to the highest international stages, Afghan women have carried this struggle with extraordinary courage and too often largely on their own. They have continued to organize, to propose solutions, and to defend their rights under relentless pressures. They have not retreated. The international community must not fail them now. I have a couple of points which needs your attention and actions. First, to the United Nations, make Afghan women's rights and participation non-negotiable in every UN process on Afghanistan. institutionalize their role from agenda setting and decision making through implementation. So Afghan women have real influence, authority, and meaningful role in shaping the process and outcome that determine their future. Help establish a permanent, independent, and protected national institutions address of Afghan women inside Afghanistan with meaningful reach into rural communities in every province. The UN should help resources and safeguards so women can organize, document concerns, and develop collective priorities. Afghan women need an enduring institution of their own, not an ad hoc forum convened only when the international community wants to consult them. Turn accountability from documentation into consequences. Preserve evidence, strengthen independent accountability and judicial process, and advance the recognition and codification of gender apartheid in international law. Do not let another year of testimony end in another archive of violations. Evidence must have a destination, and that destination is justice. Keep political dialogue alive. Military actions and war are not the solution. The United Nations must sustain a political process toward an inclusive settlement, with Afghan women at the center of every dialogue, negotiation, and peace agreement. Afghanistan's future must not be negotiated without Afghan women. The Doha process and other ongoing political process led by Afghans should be continuous and adequately resourced and provide a platform to bring Afghans together. To all member states, move from fragmented bilateral engagement with the Taliban to coordinated multilateral actions. Member states must align their diplomacy and leverage around clear, measurable benchmarks on Afghan women's and girls' rights, including education, employment, freedom of movement, and public participation. Engagement must not become recognized. Engagement must not be recognition, normalization, or political legitimation. Establish a cohesive international education mobility pathway for Afghan women and girls. Create dedicated scholarship, facilitate admissions, accept flexible documentation, and interrupted credentials. Expedite visa and ensure safe travels. Remove Nationality-based barriers and create legal exemptions where visa, immigration, or documentation rule block access to education. Protect Afghan students already studying abroad or in displacement from forced return or loss of status. Please let them complete their education. Finance Afghan women as institutions. not projects, provide direct, flexible, multi-year funding to Afghan women-led organizations inside and outside the exile. An establishment of pathway for women at risk, including human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and students. No Afghan woman facing persecution should be forced back into danger. Treat Afghanistan's youth as a strategic security priority. Nearly two-thirds of Afghans are under 25. Member states should invest in education, skills, employment, civic participation, and credible alternatives to extremist recruitment. Do not wait until exclusion becomes radicalization. A generation abandoned today can become a security crisis tomorrow. And the crisis will not stop the Afghanistan's border. To the OIC member states, the OIC must active a unified Islamic enforcement framework to confront and reverse gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Only coordinated political, economic, and religious leverage applied collectively by all 57 member states can compel the Taliban to restore women's rights in reopen education nationwide. The OIC must deploy a permanent high mandate mission in Kabul with authority to engage, monitor, and intervene on rights of violation and human rights accesses. Influence require presence and without an OIC mission to the ground. The Taliban will continue issuing unlawful decrees without an Islamic oversight and accountability. The OIC must establish an Islamic established mechanism for Afghanistan, a unified platform that mobilizes Gulf financing, ensures humanitarian access, and rebuilds essential services through women-inclusive delivery. The mechanism must immediately fund food security, reopen clinics, support community schools, and establish and stabilize local economics. Excellencies, Five years later, we are asking for something vital and significant. Turn your commitment into actions so Afghan women can learn, work, lead, and reclaim their rightful place in the future of their country. Afghan women are not asking history to remember that what we suffered. We are asking you to make sure our suffering changes history. And when history asks what this generation of leaders did while the existence of millions of women was being erased, make sure the answer is worthy of this assembly. Afghans also deserve a dignified life. Thank you.

The bravest moment of my life was when, despite everything, I didn't give up. I told myself that even if one door closed, I would find another way. I opened my book, despite the threats and fears, and studied, tracked the phone, and tried online school. I felt the power within me. my mother, sister, and friends still fighting for their future, I realize that our power lies in not giving up. To be an Afghan girl and to keep going in this situation is one of the brief points about me. Thank you for listening.