Three years ago today, the lives of everyone in Afghanistan, and above all the women and girls, were turned upside down. Since the seizure of power by the Taliban, with their radical Islamist worldview, the women of Afghanistan have been subjected to the most severe systematic human rights violations worldwide. Every day for the past three years, the inhumane Taliban regime has destroyed the hopes of millions of Afghan women and girls for a better life in greater freedom.

Half of the population is no longer permitted to do things that are part of any normal life. They can’t work, they can’t enter a hospital or restaurant alone, they’re not allowed to sing, to show their face on the street, to go to school once they reach their teens, to be women. Life for many women and girls in Afghanistan is like life under house arrest.

Today – and every day – we stand by the women and girls of Afghanistan, and by all people there who are threatened by the Taliban. Wherever it is still possible, we support the people by providing emergency humanitarian assistance in the form of food aid and basic healthcare. Wherever it is in any way possible and sensible, we facilitate projects to protect human rights in Afghanistan. More than 34,000 people who were persecuted by the Taliban have come to Germany under various admission programmes and have found protection, safety and prospects for a future without persecution.

Last year, the EU – including Germany – imposed sanctions on key figures of the Taliban regime in response to gender-based violence. We will not slacken our efforts. Together with our international partners, we are also continuing our advocacy in the UN Human Rights Council to shed light on the darkness in Afghanistan.

Almost all states in the world agree that as long as the Taliban fail to comply with Afghanistan’s international obligations, it cannot be welcomed back into the international community. Any other stance would furthermore be unfair to the German soldiers and the many civilian aid workers who risked their own lives and tried for so long to protect the people of Afghanistan from the Taliban.