7 August, 2021

August 15, 2021 is a date the world will never forget. It was the day Afghan women and girls lost the limited rights they had attained. The right to education, employment, to walk on the street without a male chaperone, to name just a few—rights that Afghan women and girls had fought for over decades—vanished because of political change.

As a representative regional network with a global voice, the Asian Network of Women’s Shelters (ANWS) is deeply concerned for the people of Afghanistan, and especially for Afghan women and girls. We urge the world to stand with every woman and girl in Afghanistan and to offer them a helping hand. We will not step aside and watch Afghan women and girls fight alone.

ANWS supports the statement of UN Women dated August 18 and other pronouncements from feminist and women’s organizations. We demand the hard-fought rights of Afghan women and girls be valued and continue to move forward. We also urge all countries and territories to receive Afghan refugees.

CHI, Hui-Jung, Chair of Asian Network of Women’s Shelters

and

Asian Network of Women’s Shelters