Afghanistan is stripping women and girls of their fundamental rights

Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion calling on the Australian government to uphold its moral responsibility to act in response to the continuing human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House notes that:

August 2025 marked four years since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, which has since seen dozens of directives issued by the de facto authorities stripping women and girls of their rights, including extrajudicial killings, bans on education and employment, restricted access to health care and widening inequalities in safety and public decision-making;
after seizing power in 2021, the Taliban's deterioration of the human rights of women and girls has been widely reported and globally denounced, including violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
UN Women has reported that, with each new restriction enforced by the Taliban regime, women are being erased in a human rights crisis affecting 21 million women in Afghanistan;
UN Women has also reported that, despite unimaginable barriers, Afghan women are bravely documenting human rights abuses on the ground and figuring out ways to build community and maintain daily acts of resilience, courage and resistance;
for many years, ethnic groups such as the Hazaras have faced a history of repression, violence and structural discrimination by governments and ruling parties in Afghanistan, and since the Taliban seized power in 2021 there has been a return to impunity for those committing atrocities against Hazaras including displacement, executions and the suppression of basic rights of women;
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has this week told the sixtieth session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that Afghanistan faces a severe rollback of fundamental rights, with women's access to health care and other freedoms sharply restricted and maternal mortality among the world's highest; and
the High Commissioner warned that international humanitarian and human rights law are being "shredded" across the world, criticising governments for disregarding, disrespecting and disengaging from international law and urging states to halt arms transfers facilitating war crimes and recommit to multilateral cooperation.

(2) That this House calls on the Australian Government to uphold its moral responsibility to act in response to continuing human rights violations in Afghanistan, including by increasing aid funding for humanitarian pathways, ensuring women's rights are foundational to aid and development responses, and backing international efforts to investigate human rights abuses and deliver accountability for international crimes.

Motion agreed to.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

21 October 2025

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

Electricity is an essential service. But Labor and Liberal governments have sold off NSW’s energy assets and infrastructure, leaving us at the mercy of the private sector for our energy needs. The result has been soaring energy bills, with more and more people being forced into energy poverty.

A privatised energy system will never deliver a cheap and clean energy network - It’s time to take the power back.

As we transition to 100% renewable energy, we must learn from the mistakes of privatisation, ensure our energy assets are kept in public hands, and rein in the actions of private operators.

Communities across NSW have for too long been at the mercy of privatised power network operators who continue to put profit above people, acting recklessly and cutting corners without regard for community expectations.

Recent catastrophic power outages in regional NSW have made headlines for just this - in Broken Hill, the state’s only 100% privatised transmission network operator has failed to deliver a safe and secure energy network, leaving communities in the dark because of mismanagement and neglect in the pursuit of profit.

To build our case for bringing electricity back into public ownership, the Greens are calling for a public parliamentary inquiry into all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision-making practices.

Add your name now to support the campaign!

While you're here, want a free sticker? Click this link to grab yours now!

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Mobile phone

Address (Street, Suburb, State, Postcode)

Country

I want to volunteer

Join with Facebook

Join with Twitter

Afghanistan is stripping women and girls of their fundamental rights

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

Will you sign?

Join the Campaign

Join 57,982 other supporters in taking action