ZamZam Foundation & Amnesty Feminists (UK & Australia)
24 June 2026
WE STAND WITH THE WOMEN OF HERAT
We — ZamZam Foundation and Amnesty Feminists (UK & Australia) — issue this statement together in solidarity with the women of Herat, and with all those who took to the streets to defend their rights.
In recent days, women in Herat have been detained on streets and in bazaars, accused of failing to comply with Taliban dress codes. Men have been forced to sign pledges making them responsible for controlling the women in their families. Mosque imams have been conscripted to relay orders. When residents of the Jebrail district responded with peaceful protest, Taliban forces opened fire. At least two people are dead. A teenage boy is among the confirmed casualties. Dozens more have been arrested or injured. Taliban authorities subsequently visited hospitals, reportedly searching for wounded protesters.
The Taliban have denied these events. The evidence — from eyewitnesses, human rights organisations, and on-the-ground reporting — tells a different story.
This is not an isolated incident. It is the latest and most violent stage of a deliberate process to erase women from public life entirely. Women have been progressively excluded from parks, education, employment, and public space. Their presence has been made conditional, then supervised, then criminalised. Control of women has been transferred to families through coercion. And now, those who protest these conditions are shot.
This is gender apartheid — and it must be named as such.
The international community has watched this process unfold restriction by restriction, and too often responded with inadequate urgency. Amnesty Feminists have campaigned across the UK and Australia to ensure women from Afghanistan are never forgotten on the global stage. ZamZam Foundation was built by and for Afghanistan women— our founder, Dr Nilofar Ibrahimi, is a former member of the Afghanistan Parliament who fled the Taliban and has never stopped working for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. That we stand together — from Canberra to London — reflects our shared conviction that this crisis demands a global response.
We both know that silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.
We need global solidarity and a united women’s movement. Symbolic gestures and expressions of concern alone will not bring change. The international community must move beyond statements and condemnations and put meaningful pressure on governments to take concrete and effective action.
The Taliban regime is fundamentally incompatible with the values and principles of the 21st century. A system built on widespread human rights violations, the exclusion of women from public life, the denial of basic freedoms, and the systematic suppression of fundamental rights cannot be normalised or accepted as a legitimate reality.
Lasting change in Afghanistan requires addressing the root cause of the crisis. That root cause is the continuation of a regime that systematically deprives half of the country’s population of their rights, freedoms, and human dignity. Until this system of oppression and gender apartheid is challenged, Afghanistan women and girls will continue to be denied the future they deserve.
Dr Nilofar Ibrahimi
Chair, ZamZam Foundation Australia
Former Member of Parliament in Afghanistan
The Taliban are committing gross violations of human rights against the women and girls of Afghanistan — and the events in Herat this week show they are prepared to use lethal force against anyone who dares to say so. Women are being detained for the crime of existing in public. Protesters are being shot in the street. This is gender apartheid, and the world cannot look away.
I stand with the brave women and men of Herat who took to the streets together — because feminist activism, as I have seen everywhere from Canberra to Kabul, is never only for women. An injustice against one is an injustice against us all. Women in Afghanistan have not given up hope, and neither can we.
Kathryn Allan
Convenor, Amnesty Feminists Australia
Campaigner, Rise with Afghan Women Campaign, Amnesty Feminists UK
PhD Researcher, ANU
We call on the Australian Government, the UK Government, and the broader international community to:
— Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained during the Herat protests — both the women arrested for their appearance and the protesters arrested for peacefully asserting their rights;
— Condemn unequivocally the Taliban’s use of live ammunition against civilians and support an independent investigation into the killings and injuries;
— Formally recognise what is occurring in Afghanistan as gender apartheid, and respond with the full weight of diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian frameworks that recognition demands;
— Prioritise women human rights defenders from Afghanistan— including those who protested in Herat — in refugee protection, humanitarian visa pathways, and scholarship programs;
— Sustain and increase humanitarian funding for Afghanistan, where 21.9 million people require assistance and international funding has so far covered less than 15% of what is needed.
The women of Herat stepped into the street knowing the risk. They were met with bullets. The world must not meet them with silence.
Gender apartheid is complete not when the last restriction is imposed, but when the removal of women is no longer news. We refuse to let that happen.
ZamZam Foundation
Canberra, Australia
admin@zamzam.org.au | www.zamzam.org.au
Amnesty Feminists Australia
Amnesty International Australia
Amnesty Feminists UK
Amnesty International UK
www.amnesty.org.uk/get-involved/join-the-movement/join-a-group-or-network/amnesty-feminists/