The Kabul Tribune (KT)-- As Afghanistan approaches the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power on Aug. 15, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has called for the immediate release of six staff members of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation detained in Kabul.
Yousafzai said the workers’ families do not know where they are or whether they are safe, stressing that their work supporting Afghan women and girls is “not a threat” but an essential lifeline.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment and freedom of movement, and restrictions on participation in public life.
Yousafzai joined Amnesty International, the U.N. special rapporteur on Afghanistan and others in calling for the workers’ “immediate, safe and unconditional release.”
The Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) is an Afghan nongovernmental organization focused on women’s and children’s rights, legal research, advocacy and access to justice. Founded in 2002, the organization has worked on documenting rights violations, raising awareness and supporting greater access to justice for women and children.
