Recent News

Please join an urgent effort by the IAWJ to rescue, evacuate, and provide support for courageous women judges who can no longer work and are now pleading for help – many of whom are in hiding without water, fuel, food, and electricity.

"They are women who had the effrontery to sit in judgment on men,” said Susan Glazebrook, President of the judges’ association and a justice of the Supreme Court in New Zealand. "The women judges of Afghanistan are under threat for applying the law,” she added. “They are under threat because they have made rulings in favor of women according to law in family violence, custody and divorce cases.”

The IAWJ is very concerned about the dangers women judges are facing in Afghanistan. They are our members and our friends and we hope they will all be rescued soon. We are thankful that some of our members are now safe and recognise the vital role played by the Polish authorities in the rescue of some 20 women judges and their families. These judges have now been in Poland for over a month and have received a warm welcome. We have great pleasure today in releasing this statement of thanks.

Judges in Afghanistan are in very grave danger.
Judges are at risk because they made rulings in terrorism and security cases in accordance with the law. They are at risk because of their rulings in criminal cases. They are at risk because, where required by law, they ruled against men in domestic violence, divorce and child custody cases. They are at risk because some of these judgments were made against Taliban members. In effect judges in Afghanistan are at risk because they upheld the rule of law and respected human rights.

The situation in Afghanistan is dire and many have reached out to the IAWJ on ways to support the women and girls of Afghanistan in general and our members and their families in specific.

IAWJ Immediate Past President, Judge Vanessa Ruiz, sat down with Christopher Booker from PBS News to discuss the current situation some of Afghanistan’s 250 women judges face.

The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) has grave fears for the basic human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan as the Taliban advance and take control of large parts of the country. This includes the right of women to live and work in safety and security.