On 13 November 2023, Women without Borders Founder and Chair Edit Schlaffer had the opportunity to moderate a panel conversation at the event “In Solidarity with the Women of Afghanistan”, which was organised by Ms. Manizha Bakhtari, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan in Vienna. The event focused on defining and implementing an international legal framework that would include and address the ongoing gender apartheid in Afghanistan. The panel included Ms. Josipa Palac, President and Chief Executive Officer of International Cultural Diversity Organization, Mr. Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan in Geneva, Ms. Hermine Schreiberhuber, Foreign policy Journalist in Wien, Ms. Parwana Ibrahimkhail, women’s rights activist, and Ms. Rosa Logar, Founding Member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Austria (WILPF). At a time when human rights abuses worldwide are on the rise and women’s access and freedom to basic rights are being rolled back at an alarming rate, it is imperative that diverse perspectives join the conversation, from activists to policymakers to civil society.
Thank you to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Vienna for organising the important event. We stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan and recognise the oppressive system of gender apartheid which is now their everyday reality.