IN CONSULTATION WITH AFGHAN WOMEN ON THE GROUND , ONE BILLION RISING / V-DAY AND WOMEN ’ S GLOBAL SOLIDARITY WITH WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN DRAFTED A STATEMENT THAT WE SHARED WIDELY :
We follow the lead of Afghan women on the ground . We urgently call upon governments , the UN Security Council , and regional entities to :
• Refuse to recognize a Taliban government , which has no legitimacy beyond the brutal force it commands , and which terrorizes the people of Afghanistan , girls and women in particular .
• Stop all forms of support to the Taliban , including funding , providing of arms , and technical know-how .
• End imperialism , militarism , fascism and religious fundamentalism . Cut the Pentagon Budget .
• Stop and prevent manipulating women ’ s rights for commercial and other interests .
• Support the women ’ s resistance to the Taliban inside Afghanistan . Respect and support Afghan women and people ’ s exercise of their democratic and human rights , including their right to self-determination .
• Evacuate women and men , human rights defenders , journalists , police officers , public employees , athletes , and LGBTI + who wish to leave the country and ensure their safe passage .
• Create an independent body of observers , made up with a majority of women , who have a track record of promoting women ’ s human rights to monitor the situation in Afghanistan .
• Welcome refugees , with the US and their allies assuming the responsibility of financing the cost of resettling displaced people from Afghanistan .
• Immediately open humanitarian corridors to support the people of Afghanistan .
• Stop arms trade policies and the military industrial complex , which profits from the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world .
We call upon the women of the world , and our allies , to :
• Listen , share , and amplify the voices of the women of Afghanistan .
• Defend women ’ s rights , which are under threat in all countries , and uphold the principles of equality and secularism as the backbone of the protection of these rights .
• Expose your own government ’ s role in perpetuating or tolerating armed conflict and intervention in Afghanistan .
• Call for a feminist foreign policy that prioritizes sustainable peace , human security , and freedom for all .
• Understand and advocate that our common future as women is reflected in the faces of Afghan women , as right-wing populist forces that are anti-women , anti-human rights , and anti-democracy are rising around the world .