Taliban to be taken to international court over gender discrimination

Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands are bringing the Taliban to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over gender discrimination, marking a landmark move.

Announced at the UN General Assembly, this is the first occurrence of one nation using the ICJ, located in The Hague, to sue another country for gender discrimination.

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According to ‘The Guardian’, the case is grounded in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which the General Assembly adopted in 1979, and it came into force in 1981.

Afghanistan ratified this convention in 2003, before the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

In this unprecedented legal move since the Taliban assumed control, Afghanistan is expected to have six months to respond, after which the ICJ would conduct a hearing and likely recommend provisional measures.

Proponents of this action assert that even if the Taliban disregards the court's authority, an ICJ ruling could deter other nations from normalising diplomatic relations with the Taliban. ICJ signatories are expected to comply with its decisions.

There has been concern about discussions between the UN and the Taliban where women’s issues have been omitted from the agenda to encourage the Taliban’s participation.

The initiative is supported by three female foreign ministers: Penny Wong of Australia, Annalena Baerbock of Germany, and Mélanie Joly of Canada. It is also endorsed by the Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp.

In recent repression efforts in Afghanistan, the Taliban have banned Afghan women from speaking publicly, leading to an online protest where Afghan women sing in defiance.

During a UN side event this week, actor Meryl Streep stated, “A female cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban. A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not.”

The countries pursuing the lawsuit express readiness to negotiate with the Taliban in good faith to end gender discrimination, yet will seek an ICJ hearing if negotiations fail.

Last month, the Taliban introduced new vice and virtue laws mandating that women must not leave their homes without being fully covered and prohibiting them from singing or raising their voices in public.

Streep joined Afghan activists and human rights defenders in urging the UN to take action to safeguard and restore the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Asila Wardak, a leader of the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan, noted that the gender apartheid system imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan is not only an Afghan issue but part of the “global fight against extremism.”

Akila Radhakrishnan, strategic legal advisor on gender justice at the Atlantic Council think tank, stated: “This case, by centering violations of women’s rights, not only has the potential to deliver much-needed justice to the women and girls of Afghanistan, but also forge new precedents for gender justice.”

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