Thankfully, many women judges have escaped Afghanistan with the help of the International Association of Women Judges and other organizations and governments. Sixty-eight women judges still desperately need sanctuary.
I am deeply concerned for the safety of women who, like me, worked in the justice system in Afghanistan and remain in the region. They are among the brave women who sent the Taliban, terrorists and criminals to prison. Since the Taliban regained power and released thousands of prisoners, women who once delivered justice have been hunted by cruel men committed to seeking revenge. The Taliban stripped all women from judgeships in the country, stopped their salaries and froze their bank accounts.
Facing frequent death threats and constant fear of violent reprisals, the judges and their families often move from one hiding spot to another to evade attack. Some of the judges have children. They have nothing left — no income, no safety, no security, no support. Some can’t afford a passport application. Some have waited more than a year for processing of asylum documents. Some have made it only as far as neighboring Pakistan and face steep fines and other trouble for overstaying their visas while awaiting asylum elsewhere.
Perhaps no single country can take all the judges at once. But I won’t give up helping them leave until one by one they all get out. We are grateful to people like Dr. Elizabeth Biok, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists, in Australia. I helped keep lines of communication open between three judges and her group while they successfully got visas for Australia.
As I write this, from where I live in Manchester, England, there are 49 women judges in Afghanistan and 19 stuck in transit in Pakistan who urgently need help to survive and escape.
Let me share a surprising and disappointing response we received from a request to the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund Safety Net, which provides financing for “individual women human rights defenders who face risks that threaten their safety or ability to sustain their work,” it says. The judges were turned down because the risks must be “due to the activism that they did outside of their work,” we were told.
In their work, the judges fought for justice and helped women. Their activism was intrinsic. We humbly suggest reconsideration of the Safety Net policy to help the judges in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
When I was a family court judge in the 1990s in Afghanistan, there were 22 women jurists in the whole country. There were 10 times as many by the time the Taliban returned to power, after two decades, in August 2021.
Last September, one woman judge was killed and her body was put outside her brother’s house. All the judges were terrified and told me, “Don’t tell the media, don’t tell the media.” I kept silent, but then I said: “Why should keep I silent? This is a big deal. Silent for what?” I started sharing what happened and the judges agreed with me. It is so upsetting for all of them. I ask Allah to give me patience. Patience, patience, patience. Patience can help me to carry on with this campaign.
I am in touch with all of the women judges, mostly through WhatsApp. I cry with them. I try to make them laugh, but they can’t laugh with me. They have no energy left for laughing. These women who have spent their careers fighting for justice for others are begging now for justice themselves.
This is an opinion essay.
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on the plight of Afghan women judges?
Marzia Babakarkhail (@marziababakarkh) was a family law judge in Afghanistan in the 1990s. Now in England, she campaigns for evacuation and resettlement of women Afghan judges and their families trapped in Afghanistan or stuck in transit in Pakistan since fleeing the Taliban return to power in August 2021.
It’s very interesting to read this and important to continue to put the information out there as many of the public is unaware, so the first step to mobilising support is to raise awareness. I do applauded the effort for the writer of this article and their continued commitment to this cause.
Thank you
This is terrible news. They deserve sanctuary in any country. Why isn’t more being done. My thoughts are with you and the Afghan women judges. I have shared this on my Facebook.
It is very disappointing to witness the inertia and disinformation around supporting the women who must flee Afghanistan in fear of their lives. Please do what you can to raise awareness and support for resolution of their predicament.
The refusal of the UN to provide help and support to the women judges is inhumane in the extreme. These are women who administered justice according to the law only to find themselves facing death threats from criminals released by the Taliban, Qazi Marzia herself having escaped two assassination attempts even before the Taliban regime took control.
I would urge the UN to reconsider their position and provide sanctuary and support to these brave women and their families.
Greetings dear readers.
A false claim has been made recently in the media, that millions of dollars have been spent on Afghan female judges and prosecutors.
As Female judges, we worked honestly and with integrity and were the only breadwinners in our families.
Currently we live in rented houses, in a sub-zero economy, with no money for medical treatment and doctor’s fees, and when our children get sick, we administer paracetamol without a doctor’s prescription. We know that it is dangerous to give medicine without diagnosing disease, and put our children in risk because of financial and security problems.
There has been a lot of publicity regarding donations from August 2021 till now in the name of Afghan women judges.
Where are these donations from around the world raised in the name of Afghan women judges?
This is a kind of injustice. We live in a miserable situation in Afghanistan, we want the attention of the United Nations in this regard, and recently I would like to thank Ms. Qazi Sahib Babakarkhail, as she stand for us.
In addition to having lost their duty, female judges and prosecutors in Afghanistan are in a bad situation of insecurity, they are burning in the fire of revenge.
The international community must take action before female judges and prosecutors and their families in Afghanistan become victims of the revenge of criminals and terrorist groups.
Qazi .S.B
As female judges, we have diligently worked with integrity and have shouldered the sole responsibility of being breadwinners in our families.
There has been significant publicity surrounding donations raised in the name of Afghan women judges from August 2021 until now. However, we question the whereabouts of these donations from around the world, including contributions from celebrities.
This situation raises concerns about injustice and fairness. Despite living in a miserable situation in Afghanistan, we earnestly seek the attention of the United Nations and other Human Rights and Women’s Rights Organizations. We are pleading for support, as it may appear that we have received sufficient assistance, but the reality is different.
The impact of these challenges will leave an indelible mark in history, and while we strive for justice and change, we will never forget or forgive the hardships faced.
Judge Babakarkhail pass our concerns to the WORLD.
Judge Huda Payez
Greetings and regards, according to the recent statements made in the media, it is a false claim that millions of dollars have been spent on judges and paramedics. female judges, we worked honestly and we were among the cleanest judges, we were the breadwinners of our family until today, we live in a rented house, we are in a sub-zero economy, we don’t have money for treatment and doctor’s fees, when our children get sick, we take paracetamol without a doctor’s prescription. We know that it is dangerous to give medicine without diagnosing the disease, but we are forced to eat our daily food. Again, millions of dollars are charged to judges. This is a kind of injustice. We live in a miserable situation in Afghanistan, we want the attention of the United Nations in this regard, and recently I would like to thank Ms. Qazi Sahib Babkarkhil, she is the only woman who wants justice for the women of Afghanistan.
I urge UN Women, to consider the Afghan women judges’ current situation.
The Taliban regime is against women. Human rights and Women’s rights organisations need to consider the Afghan women judges’ current situation. We call for support and discussion.
Judge Bano
Afghan women urgently need international support. Please share your thoughts regarding this article. I urge the United Nations, UN Women, to consider the Afghan women judges’ current situation.
As a campaigner since 19th August 2021 I try to be the voice for my colleagues.
I knocked on every single door to ask for support. Some doors never opened, some doors showed sympathy rather than action.
We are human beings. We should think about the two years during which the judges haven’t had any income.
The Taliban regime is against women. Human rights and Women’s rights organisations need to consider the Afghan women judges’ current situation. We call for support and discussion.
We are immensely grateful to all our supporters.
Many thanks,
Marzia Babakarlhail,
Advocate & Voice for Afghan Women Judges
I cannot understand why no country or organisation is coming to the aid of these women judges trapped in Afghanistan at daily risk to their lives. They are only a small group and surely utterly deserving of help and rescue.
The technicality by which they were denied help by the UN WPHF safety net is completely ridiculous and cruel.
Greetings and courtesy to everyone, Thank you for the support of Judge Marzia Babakarkhail, who is bringing the silenced voice of our female judges to the world. I have been living with my family for more than two years and I have not benefited from any kind of financial aid. Myself and my colleagues are in a very bad economic situation. We are asking for your help and cooperation.
and (wphfund) rejected our request for economic help too
again we request for help. and we need help.
Frozan Charkhi
Hello ! We women judges who are stuck in Afghanistan are facing many problems. We ask the UN international community not to leave us alone. We are facing security and economic problems. We have lost all our rights and privileges in life. We need the help and support of the United Nations. In the end, we thank Judge Sahib Marzieh Babkarkhel, who has always made our voice heard by the world.
This is such valuable advocacy on behalf of these professional women in danger. Thanks for all the resettlements which have already been taking place but much more is needed.
We are Afghan women judges who currently live in Afghanistan and Pakistan
We ask for your help and cooperation. During these two years, without a living wage, we have been living our lives and our families with hundreds of pains and stress.
We have lost everything, justice on the one hand, assistance and arrest have been taken
Right now we need financial help, now is the time for you to help us
We want justice for ourselves
Thank you, dear Qazi Saheb Babakarkhail, who does not hesitate to cooperate in any way. May your steps be steadfast. You are the source of hope and the bright eyes of the moon.
Thank you very much for sharing and for raising awareness on the helpless female judges along with all females in Afghanistan left alone! The international community and human right institutions are highly requested to highlight this injustice and support you to help those woman! Thanks for your continuous strength in fighting for the right!
The female judges stuck in Afghanistan are deprived of all basic rights. They have not received help from any institution and they want justice from the world.
The female judges stuck in Afghanistan, who spent their lives in the consolidation of justice, today are fighting for survival and asking the world for justice
Reading about the plight of my fellow Afghan women judges breaks my heart into a million pieces. These brave women, who once stood for justice, are now being hunted down mercilessly. Stripped of dignity, livelihood, and security, they are pushed to the brink of existence.
Marzia Babakarkhail’s words, ‘I won’t give up helping them leave until one by one they all get out,’ echo in my mind. Her persistence gives us hope, but also a call to action. Disappointments from organizations like the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund Safety Net remind us that our struggle is far from over.
My plea is for everyone to join Marzia in her fight. Let’s help these women, our sisters, escape the shadows of terror and step into the light of freedom.
Judges stuck in Afghanistan are really oppressed and deserve serious help and attention
The female judges stuck in Afghanistan have not received help from any institution. They live in economic poverty and insecurity.
Ignorance of judges is disregard for justice
Thank you Madzia Babkarkhail for your consistent efforts.
Greetings and courtesy to everyone, Thank you for the support of Judge Marzia Babakarkhail, who is bringing the silenced voice of our female judges to the world. I have been living with my family for more than two years and I have not benefited from any kind of financial aid. Myself and my colleagues are in a very bad economic situation. We are asking for your help and cooperation.
and (wphfund) rejected our request for economic help too
again we request for help.
Frozan Charkhi
The women judges in Afghanistan were activists by their everyday challenges of the Taliban regime’s ideology in their work for justice with in the courts. The UN & British government have to do more to enable a safe passage for them and their families ,they remain in danger. Marzia is doing incredible work to keep their voices heard and to advocate for their safety
The women judges stuck in Afghanistan are those who fought with their pen to ensure justice and defend human rights during their tenure as judges. They have been enforcers of human rights laws, gender equality and non-violence against Afghan women and children. After coming taliban in power, women judges lost their duties and now they are in a bad security,psychiatric and economic situation and they need help. So far, they have not received help from any donor organization and their financial requests have been rejected by the WPHFUND organization as well. Now we ask again the said organization to reconsider their decision regarding the rejected requests and provide humanitarian financial support to Afghan women judges like other civil activists supported.
The women judges in Afghanistan need our help! They are working for human rights and are being persecuted for their opinions of gender equality! Please help! The world needs people like them to stand up for all, not just the males of their country!
The women judges stuck in Afghanistan need help, the world should not forget them.
These women must be aided in receiving refuge and preserving their lives which they have truly dedicated to supporting basic human rights. Dedication that clearly has gone beyond their careers but a dedication of their lives in every sense of the word.
Thanks to Judge Marzia Babakarkhail for her work, and continuing to share her experience. It is women like Judge Marzia who continue to make the world aware of the tragedies taking place in Afghanistan while world leaders look the other way. It is outrageous that the United Nation continues to preach about human rights while actively avoiding the conditions in Afghanistan. It is time for the international community to take action, not only helping the women judges stuck in the country but all the civilians in need.
I find it hard to believe that the UN does not consider these brave women to be activists while they are breakthrough citizens, lawyers and judges in a country entirely hostile towards women in general. Wake up, United Nations. These women need protection before they are all brutally tortured and/or murdered simply due to the fact that they are women with an education and a position of authority.
Yes, you are right… It’s astonishing how UN isn’t doing much…. Except in the lower levels where normal people emerge…
Salam miss Babakarkhil, thanks for your endless support and raising voice for all those female judges which are still in Afghanistan.
I Tahera mansoor as a Afghani women judge confirm that I have not received any financial aid from any donor organizations (wphfund) this is an injustice that has been done with me. I have defended the rights of women in family courts and crimes of violence against women and I have explained the rights of a woman.
Currently, I and my family and my other colleagues (female judges) are living in a very bad security and economic situation in the country, we (female judges) are in need we disturbed, we have been subjected to violence we have lost everything.help all of my colleagues.
Regards
Tahera mansoor
I am a disabled US veteran and I often think of the people in Afghanistan the US and other countries left behind. I made friends with a few Afghanistan women refugees who have been actively protesting against negotiating with the Taliban as it would give them the appearance of a group legitimacy. They are in fact tortuous, ruthless and not to be trusted. They got rid of the positions of the women judges and now those women are in danger for their lives. The UN must reconsider.
The UN needs to act on this. It is a travesty against justice to not be doing everything humanly possible to get these women out to safety.
I’m so sad to hear of this persecution. I’ve donated in hopes that it may help bring someone to a safe space. Thank you for sharing this story!
No one should have to try this hard to be safe.
It is deplorable that our country is denying asylum to this woman! Our country and its policies were meant for people seeking protections from countries like hers. Let’s be honest the only reason the US doesn’t want to do this is because they are afraid of political fall out with that country. This woman speaks truth to light. We need more people like her!
The bravery of these women and the oppression they face brings me to my knees. I do not understand why people/governments/organizations with the power to help them do not do so.
Thank you for spreading awareness on this important matter!
This is frightening and sobering. Many thanks to Marzia for calling it to our attention!
Incredible read. Keep fighting!
As an American citizen, I have watched the story of the female Afghani judges very closely. Marzia has worked tirelessly to help them in any way she can, but dozens of them have been left behind. These women are activists by the very nature of their former role in Afghani society. Now their lives remain threatened. I plead with anyone who reads this, and with the UN, to anything and everything in their power to help these brilliant and strong women to be free of fear and to have the chance to live full lives. They deserve our attention.
A judge always tries to establish justice in society and Afghanistan is a traditional country where women have always been oppressed. Afghan female judges have always tried to establish justice in their society under very difficult conditions. That is, female judges were one of the most important civil activists in a country like Afghanistan, and now that female judges are facing many economic problems in the current situation and have no source of financial income, because they are no longer allowed to work. WPHF should not refuse their donation. In this critical situation of Afghanistan, we should be given financial assistance. In this situation, Afghan women judges should not be forgotten because they need help
Judge Sharifa Ahmadzai
Thanks to Judge Marzia Babakarkhail who brings our voice to the ears of the world.we are really a forgotten section of the country called Afghghantan,and being Women is a crime and a woman Judge in this country is a crime and and a sin and we have been forgotten by all the people of the world
It’s been two years since we were fired from our duties by the Taliban and we spent our lives with our children of very hard and without work and duties . and we spent all the money I had in this period of two years I ask the office @wphfund not ignore us and help us if possible
A judge always tries to establish justice in society, and Afghanistan is a traditional country where women have always been oppressed. Afghan female judges have always tried to establish justice in their society under very difficult conditions. That is, female judges were one of the most important civil activists in a country like Afghanistan, and now that female judges are facing many economic problems in the current situation and have no source of financial income, because they are no longer allowed to work, WPHF should not deprive them of financial assistance. In this critical situation of Afghanistan, they should be given financial aid. In this situation, Afghan women judges should be helped
It is astonishing that even in this era, we continue to witness such things. Afghanistan truly deserves a brighter future, and those courageous women have been, and continue to be, heroes fighting to uphold the principles of law in a country plagued by dysfunction. It is unjust that they now face such a heavy toll. Rather than mere respect, these women require both protection and support.
In the current situation, we women judges who are stuck in Afghanistan, need help and support. Many thanks to Judge Marzieh Babker Khel who defended us female judges. We female judges have not received financial aid from any institution.
With the re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, we female judges are facing many security and economic problems. So far, no financial aid has been given to the judges stuck in Afghanistan. Our request to the United Nations is to not leave us alone in this bad economic and security situation. Thanks to Judge Sahib Marzieh Jan Babker Khel for not leaving us alone
Thanks for rasing awareness on that issue I had absolutely no knowledge about.
We Afghan female judges, as law enforcers, have continued our duty to provide social justice and defend the lost rights of the oppressed people of our country in bad security conditions that threatened our lives and our family members at any moment. Although two of our colleagues were killed by terrorists while performing their duties, this did not stop us from fighting injustice and our sacred duty. But today, we women judges are deprived of our human rights and we struggle with economic and security problems. @WPHFun, our donation forms rejected us female judges because we weren’t civic activists. But in fact, the role of a female judge in society as a law enforcer in those bad security conditions was and is much higher than that of a civil activist. Although the proposal of financial assistance to women judges has been raised at the global level, recently I respectfully request from the said organization to consider compassionately and revise the forms of financial assistance to women judges.
Best wishes.
judge hilay ghfarzai.
Thanks to Judge Marzia Babkarkhil who always worked hard and tried to be the voice of Afghan women judges stuck in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Judges who were once defenders of human rights and worked to ensure justice and human rights are now living in bad economic and security conditions, but unfortunately, no institution has provided any help to this vulnerable group.