Thread by @karimabennoune

On #IWD2023, I share 3 Fact Sheets on #GenderApartheid I wrote w @UMichLaw student Amulya Vadapalli based on bit.ly/3ZOOHNk:

1)What is Gender Apartheid (GA)?
2)Added Value of Apartheid Approach
3) GA in #Afghanistan
bit.ly/3yhuCDV

Stand w #Afghan Women
1/11

"#GenderApartheid is the systematic segregation of the sexes imposed through law & policy as a governing ideology. In this construct, segregation may be accompanied by the total exclusion of women as in Taliban #Afghanistan, the
paradigmatic example of gender apartheid"
#IWD2023

"The apartheid framework highlights the duty of the international community and of other states to take concerted, effective action to terminate the
practice."

bit.ly/3yhuCDV
bit.ly/3ZOOHNk

#IWD2023

3/11

"The largely 20th century apartheid framework addressed only racial apartheid & has not yet been widely deployed to address #GenderApartheid. It should be. Such a logical application of international law is essential in the 21st century."

#IWD2023

4/11

"It is the only way to meet the goal of achieving
gender equality agreed to by all states in the SDGs, and to achieve the UN Charter’s guarantee of the equal rights of #women and men."

#IWD2023

5/11

In 1999 UN expert Abdelfatah Amor of #Tunisia explicitly framed what was happening in Taliban #Afghanistan 1.0 as “apartheid.” So did many women #HumanRights defenders, incl many from #Muslim background

The international community did not follow their courageous lead

#IWD2023

"Today, the Taliban have again made systematic discrimination against women a core part of their.. governance. There is growing recognition among government representatives, civil society
advocates & experts..that what is happening in
#Afghanistan is #GenderApartheid."

#IWD2023

Strategies to consider include:
Interpreting existing apartheid standards to incl gender apartheid. This requires simply substituting “gender” or “sex” for “race” in relevant definitions of apartheid, an approach that has been supported by prominent Black South African feminists

Strategies to consider include

Referencing gender apartheid & its consequences in all relevant debates

Calling on more intl experts &bodies to explicitly recognize the concept of gender apartheid & apply it to Taliban Afghanistan thru reports, statements & resolutions
#IWD2023

"The situation in #Afghanistan grows worse by the day, with women #humanrights defenders expecting further restrictions. Engaging with the #Taliban has not led to change, nor will it.

A new galvanizing framework is necessary:

#GenderApartheid."

10/11
#IWD2023

Instead of empty condemnations, may #IWD2023 mark the escalation of a concerted global campaign - guided by #Afghan women human rights defenders & informed by 21st century intl law -

to end #GenderApartheid in #Afghanistan

11/11
bit.ly/3yhuCDV
bit.ly/3ZOOHNk