We are devastated about the news of Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover. Our hearts and prayers are with our Afghan sisters and brothers and we stand in absolute solidarity with them.
Please see the following items below:
A statement by Women’s Action Forum (WAF), condemning the Taliban and extending their full support and solidarity to the Afghan peoples.
A link to an article written by our dear SAWCC sister, Vrinda Narain. She discusses the adverse impacts of Taliban rule for women and girls, and proposes policy actions for the international community to take, to bring about sustainable peace.
A press release from the Association of Afghan Women of Montreal and pictures from a protest we attended, in solidarity with Afghan women and women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Press release from the Association of Afghan Women of Montreal
August 20, 2021
The Afghan people have endured many hardships over the past 40 years including the psycho-social, legal, and economic ramifications of an internal war. During the period following the alterations of 2001 and the fall of the Taliban, the hope of life without war and insecurity began to take shape. These hopes collapsed. Flawed internal and external policies at a community level, as well as those of the U.S. and internationally, are responsible for this sudden breakdown. Faced with the chaotic withdrawal of international troops, and the loss of their preventative role in blocking the takeover of the country by the Taliban, the Montreal Afghan Women’s Association of gather today to call upon the UN and the Canadian government to:
- Prevent the detention and torture by the Taliban of people who worked in the outgoing government.
- Defend the right to freedom and education of all social groups, particularly women and children, while preserving the achievements of the last two decades.
- Ensure the free and safe passage of Afghans seeking to leave the country.
- Refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Taliban-established government.
- Support the creation of a national coalition government and democracy composed of the country’s roshanfekr.
- Support compliance with current laws and the legal framework in force in Afghanistan.
- Recognize the responsibility of the United States for this unplanned chaos, the fall of the government, and the sudden humanitarian catastrophe incited.
- Put pressure on the Taliban through the various means at the disposal of the United Nations and the international community, including the EU, to protect the population from the terror exerted by the Taliban.
- Create a rescue and a repatriation plan for our compatriots, in collaboration with Afghan organizations in Canada.
