Baktash Siawash, a former member of the Afghan Parliament, has staged a sit-in protest in support of women’s rights in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, setting up a protest tent. He called on European countries to officially recognize the situation of women in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid” and to suspend diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. According to Siawash, more than 1,600 days have passed since women and girls in Afghanistan were deprived of education and work. Despite this, he said, the European Union and the international community have not yet formally declared the situation as “gender apartheid.” Raising the question of what the world is still waiting for, he emphasized that this protest marks the beginning of a sustained movement and that he plans to travel to other European cities to continue advocacy efforts. Since the Taliban returned to power, widespread restrictions have been imposed on women’s education, employment, and social participation in Afghanistan. United Nations experts have described these policies as “crimes against humanity” and warned that they could amount to “gender apartheid.” Meanwhile, many Afghan women consider the situation a clear example of “gender apartheid” and are calling for its official recognition and criminalization under international law.
