As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, a humanitarian crisis is quickly unfolding in the country. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have been displaced, with women and girls making up 80 percent of those displaced individuals. Gayatri Patel, Vice President for External Relations at the Women’s Refugee Commission, sits down to talk with us about the situation unfolding in Afghanistan, what it means for women and girls, and what we can do to help.

Currently, there’s an urgent need to get people out of Afghanistan due to the ongoing conflict coupled with a major drought and ongoing impacts of Covid. Additionally, there is a growing humanitarian crisis of over 500,000 people that are internally displaced—they have left their homes in an effort to flee the Taliban, or their homes have been destroyed. All border crossing stations are controlled by the Taliban, making escape routes out of the country only possible by air. This makes shelter, food, and primary health services resources that are urgently needed by those in Afghanistan. These impacts of humanitarian crises are also disproportionately felt by women and girls, who also experience lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services, lack of access to education, and increased rates of gender-based violence.

Over the last twenty years, women and girls in Afghanistan have gone to school, worked, accessed critical health care, and become leaders. As the Taliban has taken over the country and Afghanistan’s government has fallen, those rights have been pulled back—in fact, there are reports of increased rates of sexual violence and forced marriage, women and girls being barred from schools and workplaces, and women and girls being forced to receive permission from male relatives to leave the home.

The international community must step up to support refugees from Afghanistan, without caps or quotas. The U.S. government can also ensure the safe evacuation of many women leaders by surging support for visa processing, securing routes to airports, and more. Survivors of gender-based violence, which is on the rise, need increased support. This includes medical care, psychosocial care, and assistance in finding work.

Links

Women’s Refugee Commission statement on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
Women’s Refugee Commission Afghanistan Resource Page
Advocacy and Support toolkit
CARE Action – Support Afghanistan campaign
Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Sign-On letter

Take Action

Follow the Women’s Refugee Commission on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s important for the administration to continue to hear how important it is to get all people at-risk in Afghanistan out of the country. Call or write to your Congressional representatives, the President, and Secretary

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