Given the devastating human rights situation for women and girls in Afghanistan and ever-increasing restrictions, Afghan civil society identified a pressing need for redress. Alongside formal judicial processes, engaging a complementary, grassroots mechanism was crucial to amplify the voices of Afghan women and hold the Taliban accountable.
Understanding this urgency, in December 2024, four human rights organizations – Rawadari, Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO), Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), and Human Rights Defender Plus (HRD+) – submitted a request to the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) based in Rome, Italy to launch a People’s Tribunal to hear and address international crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross human rights violations against women and girls in Afghanistan.
Acknowledging the dire human rights situation and systematic suffering of Afghan women and girls, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal approved the request in February 2025, agreeing to conduct a hearing in October 2025, to examine human rights violations carried out by the Taliban. Currently, these four Afghan organizations, in continuous consultation with women and girls both inside and outside Afghanistan, and with the support of human rights organizations, civil society groups, legal professionals, and academic experts, are preparing and planning for this crucial hearing.
This document, “Frequently Asked Questions”, is designed to address questions related to the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, and to raise public awareness and gain support and solidarity for the cause of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
