On September 19, 2024, a panel of distinguished women convened in a joint endeavor of Human Rights Watch and the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). They discussed the challenges Afghan women judges have faced prior to and since the Taliban’s takeover of the country on August 15, 2021. Macarena Sáez, the executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Women's Rights division, moderated this LinkedIn Audio Event. She was joined by a group of four extraordinary women: Judge Marzia Babakarkhail, Justice Mona Lynch, Judge Basira Qazizada, and Judge Wahida Rahimi. These women contributed their expertise and lived experiences––stories of resilience and tireless commitment to justice.
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 after waging a 20-year insurgency, erasing decades of progress in women’s rights. Three years into their renewed rule, these women’s stories remind us of the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and judicial independence. Their accounts portray the upheaval of a justice system, a profession under siege, and devastating loss. Yet, they also speak of international solidarity and a determination to continue the fight for justice, even from exile.
Escaping the Taliban
Judge Basira Qazizada, a lifelong advocate for human rights and women's rights in Afghanistan, is a current scholar and researcher at the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley. Her story took us back to August 15, 2021, the day the Taliban toppled the internationally recognized government and took control of the country.
On the day of the Taliban takeover, Judge Qazizada and a colleague of hers went to court to finish some cases despite warnings from her family and colleagues. As they attempted to bury their worries and focus on their work, a security guard entered, stating that the prisoners had been released and their safety could not be assured. Judge Qazizada rushed home, knowing this was the end of her judicial work in Afghanistan. Terrified, she went to her sister’s home and communicated with colleagues through an IAWJ WhatsApp group chat. Her peers advised her to destroy any traces of her work as a judge to avoid Taliban arrest or worse. As she sat in her home office crying, overwhelmed by the impossibility of erasing all traces of her work, she received a call from an immigration lawyer in Poland who offered her help to leave Afghanistan and directed her to get to the airport as soon as possible.
The airport erupted into a war zone as Judge Qazizada and her family attempted to flee. They narrowly survived their first escape attempt and were on the verge of losing all hope when, 24 hours later, they successfully boarded a military plane to Uzbekistan. From there, they traveled to Georgia before reaching Poland.
While in Poland, Judge Qazizada attended a Zoom meeting with the Max Planck Foundation and the IAWJ. Despite the Taliban taking away her career and effectively exiling her from her country, she refused to lose hope and turn her back on her countrymen fleeing Taliban rule. With support from the Max Planck Foundation, she obtained a J-1 visa to the U.S. and pursued an LLM. Judge Qazizada now works as a program and legal coordinator at Five Pillars, an Afghan American-led nonprofit assisting newly arrived migrants, reaffirming her commitment to advocating for Afghan women’s rights, regardless of their profession.
The IAWJ played a crucial role in Judge Qazizada’s escape and subsequent journey. The association’s national and international WhatsApp groups provided a vital communication network for sharing concerns and safety advice. Their connections facilitated life-saving contact with Anna, the immigration lawyer who helped Judge Qazizada leave Afghanistan. The IAWJ’s collective effort to help Judge Qazizada escape and resettle is a potent example of the power of solidarity among women judges, especially in times of crisis.
Women’s Rights and the Rule of Law in Crisis
Women judges worldwide have emerged as pivotal figures in the legal field, challenging long-held perceptions of the judiciary as male-dominated. Judge Wahida Rahimi, who served as a judge in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, reaffirmed the importance of women’s representation in the judiciary, especially in Afghanistan.
As Judge Rahimi noted, the presence of Afghan women judges inspired future generations to pursue positions on the bench. These women judges created a supportive environment for professional growth among other women in the legal field. Their representation enhanced legitimacy and public trust in the judicial system.
The establishment of specialized courts, such as the Court of Violence Against Women and Juvenile Delinquency, where Judge Rahimi worked, marked a huge step forward in addressing domestic violence and women’s rights. Seeing women judges provided women seeking justice a sense of safety and understanding. Judges like Rahimi confronted traditional gender roles and cultural norms that often impeded women’s access to justice.
The Taliban’s ousting and retaliation against women judges has created a void in understanding and addressing women’s grievances in court. The current judicial crisis affirms these judges’ essential role in upholding equality, justice, and the rule of law.
Those Left Behind
While many women judges have succeeded in leaving Afghanistan, those who have been unable to go live a life of fear and persecution. Judge Marzia Babakarkhail, who sat on the bench in Baghlah, Afghanistan, is a women’s rights advocate who founded an NGO in 1994 despite Taliban threats. She was forced to flee to the U.K. in 2008 after the Taliban attacked her for her efforts to educate girls. She now works for a U.K. member of parliament and has received numerous awards for her leadership and community contributions. Still in contact with those left behind, Judge Babakarkhail shared a heartbreaking message she had received from a colleague still in Afghanistan:
“Today, like every day, I wake up in despair. I ask myself, why did I become a judge? Why did I put myself and my children in danger? Today, I live in fear, and in my country, I feel like a foreigner... How can we have hope when I cannot speak aloud because I'm afraid of revealing my identity?... We fought for justice, but today, we are appealing to the world for justice. I'm a human being. I want freedom. I want safety. For how long must I hear sympathy? Please, I need action!”
Judge Babakarkhail’s colleagues, who once fought for justice, now live in constant danger, appealing to the world for help as they grapple with the loss of identity and purpose. Their circumstances underscore the urgent need for international support and action. While the prioritization of asylum claims for the endangered judges has helped their resettlement, the transition remains personally and professionally challenging.
International Solidarity: The IAWJ’s Efforts to Deliver Women to Safety
These women’s vulnerable positions have captured international attention, catalyzing action from legal professionals worldwide through organizations and associations like the IAWJ. Appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in 2002, Justice Mona Lynch has been the IAWJ’s International Director for North America since 2021. She emerged as a critical figure in this global response to evacuate Afghan women judges and promised to leave no one behind.
Justice Lynch poignantly referred to Afghanistan as “a graveyard for women’s hopes and dreams,” highlighting the dire circumstances for those left behind. Her work with the IAWJ’s Afghan Women Support Committee (AWSC) bridges the gap between the inescapable reality described by Judge Rahimi, Judge Marzia Babakarkhail, and Judge Qazizada and the coordinated global efforts to protect these women.
Justice Lynch and the IAWJ team initially worked with countries like Poland, which were evacuating their citizens. They succeeded in extracting about 30 judges before the Taliban seized control of the airport. The second phase involved collaboration with international organizations to charter flights, evacuating approximately 130 more judges. As airlifts became impossible, the IAWJ AWSC facilitated land crossings into Pakistan, a task complicated by visa and passport requirements, and closed passport offices.
The evacuation efforts faced significant hurdles, including dwindling funds, a shift in global attention to the war in Ukraine, and Pakistan’s policy of repatriating Afghan citizens. Despite these challenges, most women judges have been relocated. About 180 out of approximately 260 have reached final settlement countries. An estimated 31 judges are in transit countries, including approximately six in Pakistan. About 36 women judges remain in Afghanistan.
A Call for Unified Global Action
The experiences of these women reinforce the need for a concerted international effort to protect the women and girls still in Afghanistan, whether they be members of the judiciary or not. These judges demanded that world leaders hold the Taliban accountable to their human rights obligations. They declared that while the Taliban may dismiss individual voices, they cannot ignore the collective pressure of supporting organizations and countries. Additionally, they stressed the importance of prioritizing equal access to education, work, and justice for Afghan women and girls. As stated, the international community should ensure the monitoring and documenting of human rights violations to create a record for future accountability. The preservation of Afghan practitioners’ legal knowledge for future human rights efforts should be encouraged.
The voices of Afghan women judges, though threatened, have not been completely silenced, and it is the responsibility of the international community to amplify these women’s voices. Their courage, grace, and commitment to the rule of law in the face of adversity, both before and since the Taliban takeover, deserve continued recognition. The struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan is not just a local issue but a global one. The oppressive measures imposed by the Taliban have undeniably set back Afghanistan’s journey towards equality, but with sustained international support from governments and organizations, such as the International Association of Women Judges, a bright future for the women of Afghanistan can still exist.
The rule of law is fragile. Echoing the words of Justice Susan Glazebrook, Justice Lynch emphasized that it can be quickly dismantled, as seen in Afghanistan, or gradually eroded over time. Today, safeguarding the rule of law and advancing gender equality remain as critical as ever.