Letters | Asean chair Malaysia must take stronger stand on Taliban’s gender apartheid

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A cockroach can roam freely in Afghanistan – a woman cannot. While vermin scurry through the streets without restriction, Afghan women are trapped, erased and stripped of their basic humanity.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Afghan women and girls have faced a dramatic rollback of their rights. They are denied secondary education, stripped of economic opportunities and barred from moving freely without a male chaperon.

Their existence is dictated by over 36 sharia-based decrees, each one a further tightening of the noose on their autonomy. Afghanistan has become the world’s most glaring example of gender apartheid. These restrictions are not just oppressive; they are designed to erase women from public life entirely.

Despite these grave human rights violations, Malaysia’s response has been disappointingly muted. While Malaysia has rightly taken a strong stance on Palestine, showing solidarity with Gaza at international forums and in humanitarian efforts, the same level of urgency is absent when it comes to Afghanistan.

But one human rights crisis should not overshadow another. The systematic oppression of Afghan women and girls deserves the same outrage, advocacy and unwavering opposition.