UK government urged to act as Afghanistan marks five years under Taliban rule

Refugee charity says women, girls and ethnic minorities face deepening repression as routes to safety narrow

Britain has been urged to renew its support for Afghans facing persecution as the country approaches five years since the Taliban seized Kabul.

The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association said the anniversary on August 15 should force fresh attention on the reported collapse of rights, worsening humanitarian need and growing regional insecurity facing ordinary Afghans.

Millions of people have endured five years during which freedoms had disappeared, girls had been barred from secondary education and women had been pushed out of employment and public life, the London-based charity claimed.

ACAA said the international response must also give greater attention to Afghanistan’s ethnic communities, including Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks, amid concerns over discrimination, arbitrary detention, displacement and abuses.

Darius Nasimi, from ACAA, said: “Five years after the Taliban returned to power, we cannot allow Afghanistan to disappear from the world’s conscience. For millions of Afghans, these have been five years of shrinking freedom, deepening poverty and growing fear about what the future holds.

“For women and girls, the situation is especially devastating. Girls who were beginning secondary school when Kabul fell have now spent five formative years denied an education. The Taliban’s latest measures affecting marriage and the justice system show us that this repression is not temporary – it is becoming embedded in the institutions governing everyday life.

“We must also speak about Afghanistan’s ethnic minorities. Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and other communities deserve equality, representation and protection. Their experiences cannot become a footnote to the international discussion about Afghanistan.”

ACAA said Britain must also confront the position of Afghans who remain at risk after the evacuation from Kabul.

Dedicated UK schemes set up after the fall of Kabul are no longer generally open to new applicants or referrals, leaving many people without a realistic dedicated route to seek protection in Britain, it claimed.

It is now calling for a renewed UK strategy for Afghanistan combining humanitarian support, human rights protection and safe pathways for people facing persecution.

Nasimi added: “Britain made commitments to the Afghan people. Five years later, those commitments still matter. We are asking the UK Government to show leadership: defend the rights of Afghan women and minorities, maintain humanitarian support, create meaningful routes to safety for people facing persecution, and refuse to normalise a system that strips millions of Afghans of their fundamental rights.

“Afghanistan’s people have not given up on their country. The international community must not give up on them.”

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