Last week, I sent a note with actions you can take to help the women of Afghanistan. This week, I want to alert you to two actions planned by V-Day and One Billion Rising to take place online on Wednesday, September 1, and in the streets on Saturday, September 25. If you are a member of an organization, please sign up to confirm your support for these actions. The link to do that is below.
I hope you will take action to support and stand in solidarity with our Afghan sisters.
Solidarity With and For Afghanistan
Women of the world and our allies stand with the women – and all vulnerable groups – of Afghanistan against imperialism, militarism, fundamentalism, and fascism. None of us are free until the women of Afghanistan are free.
We believe the women of Afghanistan have the right to education, to travel, to freedom of movement, to jobs, to security, just having freedom to be able to breathe and be.
We cannot underestimate the power of our solidarity at this moment.
JOIN US:
Online on Social Media on Wednesday, 1 September –
Women and allies, show your solidarity online! Share our demands with your government leaders, call upon everyone in your community to join and RISE for and with the women of Afghanistan on Saturday, 25 September when we will take to the streets and RISE.
Access the social media toolkit »
In the Streets on Saturday, 25 September –
Women Of The World And All Our Allies Rise, Roar And Rage For The Women In Afghanistan.
A Global Solidarity Action In Your City, Town, School. Everywhere. RISE in the streets, stage creative political protests and artistic risings. Invite everyone, reach out to activists, students, artists, social justice groups, and more.
Wear masks. Social distance. All events outside.
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 knowhow.
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 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, anti-democracy are rising around the world.
Drafted in consultation with Afghan women on the ground, One Billion Rising/V-Day, and In solidarity with the Women's Global Solidarity Network for Women of Afghanistan.
ACTION STEPS:
RISE Online on Sept 1. Access the social media toolkit here and spread the word on social media. Use the hashtags: #RiseForAndWithWomenOfAfghanistan #StandWithWomenofAfghanistan
RISE in the streets on Sept 25. Plan an action in your community. Wear masks. Social distance. All events outside. RISE in the streets, stage creative political protests and artistic risings (safely). Invite everyone, reach out to activists, students, artists, social justice groups, and more.
ORGANIZATION sign on »
or email us at creative (at) vday.org
