New European Union Ruling Promotes Asylum Accessibility for Afghani Women

Afghan women lined up waiting for food distribution from a humanitarian aid group while being watched and guarded by a Taliban soldier. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) 

Three years following the Taliban’s siege of Kabul, a new European Union ruling passed on October 4th, 2024 states that countries only require the gender and nationality of female Afghan refugees to grant asylum. This comes after two Afghan women were denied refugee status by Austria, citing that they would be at risk of abduction, kept from receiving an education, and likely unable to support themselves if deported back to Afghanistan. 

The Taliban gained control of Kabul on 15 August, 2021. According to Aljazeera, their strict rule of the country has regressed women’s rights by limiting access to education, the ability to work, and overall independence. As of August, 2024 the Taliban has passed the “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” which outlines additional restrictions on women’s lives, such as a mandatory dress code, the requirement of a male guardian at all times, and the separation of men and women in public spaces. 

The new regulations are enforced by the Taliban’s morality inspectors, members of the Taliban who have the authority to punish people for not adhering to the rules. The inspectors have become corrupt with power, with allowances to detain people on arbitrary basises. Punishments can be physical with no actual basis or evidence needed, intended to spread fear across the country. Considering that many of the laws in place are targeted against women, it is not surprising that women face the breadth of these punishments. A UN Women’s survey regarding the conditions for women under current Taliban rule reports that 8% respondents know of a woman who has attempted suicide.

A woman begging for money and food on a street in Downtown Kabul (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)  

In addition to current Taliban rule, Afghanistan has faced 4 decades of conflict, poverty, food insecurity, natural disasters, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has left 23.7 million Afghans in need of humanitarian aid and 10.9 million displaced. Most displaced Afghans travel to the islamic islamic regions of Pakistan and Iran in hopes of finding asylum and a long term solution. Yet in recent years Iran and Pakistan have also become increasingly oppressive for women, with the killings of civilians like Mahsa Amini in 2022 and ongoing honor killings of women. It is clear why Afghan women would require improved access to other countries that offer immediate protection away from the threat of violence. 

The European Union’s newest court decision follows a precedent set by relatively safer countries for women like Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, as they have already begun granting asylum to all female Afghan refugees in need. This decision also has roots in the 1995 Beijing Platform, a document outlining 12 critical areas in need of improvement in order to promote equality for women. As mentioned above, lack of education, work, and social engagement are large issues that the Beijing Platform and the EU ruling are attempting to eradicate by giving women a safe place to continue leading independent lives. The international community is taking big strides in protecting the lives of these women. The women of Afghanistan cannot be left behind.