We, the protesting and justice-seeking women of Afghanistan, firmly reject the Russian Federation’s decision to recognize the Taliban regime. We consider this decision shameful, unconscionable, and contrary to fundamental human and political principles.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan by force of arms, without any legitimate popular mandate. For over three years, what has been imposed on the people of Afghanistan—especially women—has been nothing but suffocation, discrimination, poverty, repression, and systematic exclusion from social, educational, and political life.
Recognizing this group means deliberately ignoring the reality on the ground and turning a blind eye to thousands of systematic human rights violations. We ask the Russian government:
Do you not see that girls are deprived of their right to education?
Have you not heard the cries of women who demanded only the right to study and work, and were brutally suppressed?
Does the suffering and resistance of women imprisoned in jails and confined to their homes mean nothing to you?
The Taliban are neither representatives of the Afghan people nor protectors of their interests. This ideological, violent, and regressive group has turned Afghanistan into a country where women are stripped of their most basic human rights and the voice of freedom has been silenced.
The Russian government’s decision to legitimize the Taliban is not just a political complicity with an oppressive regime; it is an outright insult to the struggles of the Afghan people—especially women—and a blatant undermining of human rights principles at the global level.
We call on the international community, international organizations, and responsible governments not to remain silent in the face of this decision. Recognizing a totalitarian regime means legitimizing misogyny, discrimination, violence, and oppression.
We, the women of Afghanistan, remain standing. Our voices will not be silenced in the face of these shameful deals and heartless policies.
Afghan Women’s Protest Movements
3 July 2025
