Strengthening Global Solidarity for Afghan Women’s Rights

As part of its Human Rights focus, the Law Faculty recently welcomed a delegation of Afghan women’s rights advocates and legal practitioners as part of the delegation’s learning and exchange visit to South Africa around justice, accountability, and global human rights advocacy.

At the heart of the visit was the PTWA’s landmark judgment delivered in The Hague on 11 December 2025, which found that the Taliban’s systematic oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan constitutes gender persecution as a Crime Against Humanity. The Tribunal further called for urgent international action, including the codification of gender apartheid and stronger accountability mechanisms to prevent the normalisation of widespread gender-based oppression.

The visit to UCT, and to the Law Faculty in particular, took place on Monday 25 May (Africa Day), bringing together representatives of the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan (PTWA) - including a Tribunal Judge, and members of the Afghan human rights organisation Rawadari – with academics and students in the Faculty. The delegation shared the findings of the PTWA and discussed possible collaboration around advancing women’s rights under international law.

South Africa’s own history of resistance against apartheid provided a particularly significant context for the visit. While South Africa, as a constitutional democracy, stands as a living example of how sustained activism, international solidarity, and legal accountability can contribute to transformative social change, the visit also highlighted the important role South Africa continues to play in global human rights discourse. South Africa remains an influential voice in advancing international accountability and defending the rights of vulnerable communities.

A significant aspect of the Faculty engagement was the involvement of Emeritus Professor Rashida Manjoo, who served as Presiding Judge of the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan. Her leadership in this sphere, and her longstanding commitment to gender justice, have helped bridge conversations between South African and (in this case) Afghan human rights movements, opening up opportunities for mutual engagement and learning. Within the Faculty, over two decades, Prof Manjoo taught and served as the Convenor of the Human Rights Program.

Discussion centred on the realities facing women and girls in Afghanistan, where restrictions on education, movement, employment, and public participation continue to deepen. Delegates shared testimonies and reflections emerging from the Tribunal process, including survivor and witness accounts that formed the basis of the Tribunal’s findings.

The Faculty discussion explored the intersections between apartheid, gender persecution, and international law, and encouraged critical review of how legal frameworks (developed in response to South Africa’s own history) could inform evolving international efforts to recognise and address gender apartheid. Participants reflected on the risks posed by global indifference and the gradual normalisation of systemic oppression, particularly in contexts where women’s rights are increasingly under attack. South Africa’s own challenges with gender-based violence and oppression pertain. 

In the context of the delegation’s ongoing discussions during their trip to South Africa, there is great opportunity for collaborative initiatives around the codification of gender apartheid and mechanisms for accountability under international human rights and humanitarian law. These conversations serve to highlight the critical role universities and law faculties play in convening dialogue, advancing legal scholarship, and supporting efforts to achieve justice locally and beyond national borders.

The Faculty’s hosting of the delegation reflects its longstanding commitment to human rights scholarship, constitutionalism, and social justice, as well as to encouraging dialogue between initiatives around injustice across different global contexts. The Faculty is very pleased to have hosted the PTWA delegation, and we look forward to strengthening ongoing collaboration with Afghan human rights defenders and international partners committed to justice and the protection of fundamental human rights for all.

The delegation included Shaharzad Akbar; Dr Haroon Mutasem; Mariam Safi; and Hasib Tareen.