“For women in Afghanistan, it’s death in slow motion.” –Adila, journalist

Amnesty International’s new report titled “Death in Slow Motion: Women and Girls Under Taliban Rule,” shines a light on the grim daily realities of life for women and girls in Afghanistan. The TYTW team is honored to have joined Amnesty International to contribute to this crucial project in an advisory capacity. 

Nearly a year ago, the Taliban seized control of the country after US troops withdrew, immediately decimating the rights of women and girls – stripping from them their rights to education, work and free movement, and protection from domestic violence. The drastic rollbacks have given way to surges in rates of child, early and forced marriages (CEFM), along with other forms of gender-based violence.

Please spend some time with this report, which integrates gripping testimony and vital insights from Afghan protestors and civil society leaders, along with statements from TYTW’s Founding Executive Director, Stephanie Sinclair and TYTW’s Regional Director for Afghanistan & Pakistan, Basir Mohammadi, on rising rates of CEFM. 

“When the Taliban’s policies exclude women and girls from society, create uncertainty and fear in communities and prevent girls from going to secondary school, vulnerable families find forcing their daughters into early marriage as the only option.” –Basir Mohammadi, TYTW

Keeping girls in school is the single most protective factor against CEFM and other forms of gender based violence. TYTW is currently working in Ghor, Herat, Badghis, Kandahar and Kabul provinces to address some of the most egregious forms of CEFM through our Parwana Food Security, Education, and Livelihoods Program. TYTW also continues to support Afghan journalists, protestors, and other civil society leaders in their transitions to new lives (including the 1,000+ Afghans in immediate danger safely evacuated by the TYTW team), along with more than 3,500 vulnerable individuals inside Afghanistan.