In a bold move to confront the Taliban’s brutal campaign of gender apartheid, four Afghan civil society organisations on Thursday announced the launch of the People’s Tribunal for Afghan Women an independent, Afghan-led forum dedicated to exposing the Taliban’s widespread and institutionalised crimes against women and girls since their violent return to power in August 2021.
The hearings, to be held in Madrid from October 8 to 10 in partnership with the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, will feature international judges, prosecutors, and leading experts on human rights and gender-based violence. The initiative aims to hold the Taliban morally and politically accountable for a reign of terror that has systematically erased Afghan women from public life, banned girls from education, and subjected women to violent repression and state-sponsored persecution.
“This tribunal is not just a symbolic act it is a demand for justice in the face of international silence,” said Shaharzad Akbar, head of the Rawadari organisation and one of the tribunal’s key organisers. “The Taliban have waged war on women. Their crimes are deliberate, coordinated, and calculated. Afghan women will not be silenced.”
Although the tribunal does not have legal enforcement powers, its findings will be submitted to international courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is currently pursuing preliminary investigations into Taliban crimes. A final verdict is expected in December.
In a joint statement, the organisers Rawadari, the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation, the Human Rights Defenders Forum, and a fourth civil society group stressed that the Taliban’s actions amount to crimes against humanity and gender-based persecution under international law.
Four Afghan prosecutors with backgrounds in international justice have been appointed to draft formal indictments. A joint Afghan-international team is gathering evidence and victim testimonies, with the hearings to be livestreamed for global audiences. The tribunal seeks to deliver a public moral judgment that exposes the Taliban’s criminal policies and builds the foundation for future prosecutions.
The announcement comes amid rising concern over international efforts to normalise Taliban rule. Russia has become the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to formally recognise the Taliban regime, while China and regional states continue to deepen ties. Some European countries maintain “technical contact” with Taliban authorities particularly over forced deportations — despite the group’s gross human rights violations.
The tribunal organisers warned that such engagement risks legitimising a regime built on misogyny, violence, and repression. “The Taliban are criminals, not a government,” said Akbar. “Every handshake with them, every meeting, every act of recognition is complicity in their crimes. The world must stop treating them as legitimate rulers and start treating them as what they are: perpetrators of gender apartheid.”
As the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover approaches, activists say Afghanistan has dangerously faded from the international agenda, leaving Afghan women to suffer in silence.“The People’s Tribunal for Afghan Women is a cry for justice — and a defiant stand against a regime that seeks to erase half the population,” said the organisers. “Afghan women will not wait for permission. They will speak. They will resist. And they will hold the Taliban accountable.”
