The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The first People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan opened Wednesday in Madrid, aiming to draw international attention to gender-based oppression and human rights violations under Taliban rule.
The event was organized by Ravadari, the Human Rights
Defenders Assembly, the Afghanistan Institute for Human Rights and Democracy,
and the Research and Development Organization.
Shaharzad Akbar, executive director of Ravadari and former
chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, urged continued
resistance against the Taliban’s gender-based violence and restrictions.
She said the tribunal seeks not only justice for Afghan
women but also to confront what she called the “indifference and silence” of
the international community toward human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
“This tribunal provides a platform for victims to share
their painful lived experiences of systematic human rights violations,” Akbar
said. “The voices of victims and survivors are at the heart of these
proceedings.”
Akbar added that Afghans have repeatedly suffered from
violence throughout their history and that global solidarity is crucial to
ensure accountability and justice.
