At its party conference in Manchester, the Greens have voted to support United Nations experts’ calls for the Taliban’s treatment of women to be recognised as a gender apartheid under international law and as a crime against humanity.
The party endorsed Amnesty International’s demands of the UK government to:
- Consult with women-led organisations in Afghanistan
- Support Afghan women’s rights activists
- Ensure that protecting women’s rights is non-negotiable with the Taliban
- Provide safe passage for Afghan women and girls seeking asylum in the UK.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:
“Since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan, women have been systematically erased from society, being ordered against leaving their homes without a male relative, banned from secondary education, and banned from working in most sectors.
“Last month, women were ordered to cover their entire bodies in public, banned from looking directly at men they are not related to, and banned from speaking in public. This is a humanitarian crisis, and the Green Party stands in solidarity with the 14 million women and girls trapped in this brutal gender apartheid.”
“Although the UK government does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, through the UK Mission to Afghanistan we have a unique opportunity to advocate for Afghan women. We must use this opportunity to provide both support for women-led organisations in Afghanistan and those seeking asylum.”