On August 15, the world watched in horror as the Taliban entered Kabul and took governmental control. Since then, thousands have tried—and are still trying—to flee the country. Civilians fear that interpreters will be killed and that women’s rights will be restricted. Under the previous Taliban rule, women were forced to wear burqas, could not travel by themselves, and were not allowed to work or go to school. 

An Update from AIWR

Back in April, we wrote about the Alliance for International Women’s Rights (AIWR), a volunteer-run organization that provides an online English language learning program and a mentorship program for women and girls in Afghanistan. Due to the heartbreaking situation in Afghanistan, AIWR has had to pause their programs.

Lisa and the AIWR team wrote about the crisis in their recent newsletter.

“The women and girls in AIWR’s programs are terrified and panicked and fear for their lives. Many of the women’s rights advocates and women professionals in AIWR’s mentor programs were already targets of the Taliban and are in imminent danger.”

How You Can Help

Afghan women and girls’ lives are at risk. Here are some ways that you can help:

• Write to your political leaders asking that Afghan women’s rights advocates and professionals be evacuated. You can send AIWR's letter or write your own, using their letter as an example.
• Send the link to Canada’s visa program to women you know in Afghanistan.
• Donate to the following organizations:
  • Vital Voices
  • Unicef
  • UNHCR
  • Islamic Relief Canada
  • Too Young to Wed

If you have other ideas for how to help Afghanistan, please let us know in the comments below.