MaryCollins

Senior Advocacy & Policy Coordinator @EuropeanWomen Purple Pact for a feminist Europe. All views are my own.

[United Nations @UN]

“Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability – but it still holds the power to stop them.”

@antonioguterres calls on world leaders to recommit to working in solidarity to solve the difficult challenges facing our world today.

[UN Women @UN_Women]

4 years since the Taliban takeover in #Afghanistan, the state of women’s health & rights is alarming.

Maternal mortality risks are rising, especially with high rates of adolescent birth due to child marriage.

The world must act now: https://t.co/GAstqwP6i1

#ForAllWomenAndGirls

[Jahanzib Wesa @jahanzibwesa]

Three years ago today, Afghan women stood in the streets demanding freedom, dignity, and education. They protested with courage, even as the world turned silent. Today, their voices are still silenced, their rights stripped away, yet their struggle for justice continues.

[FreekSpinnewijn @FreekSpinnewij1]

@EPPGroup @DirkGotink Please define transparency, impartiality, accountability, and lobbying, explain in detail the potential wrongdoings you are after, and who (Commission or NGOs) is being looked at for what exactly. Without this it looks indeed more like a "hunt" than an investigation...

[PES 🌹🇪🇺 @PES_PSE]

Europe’s democracy needs strong #NGOs.
A working group to scrutinise solely NGOs’ EU funding undermines that.
Yesterday at the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, the EPP again aligned with far-right groups to advance it.
We strongly condemn this.

[Jahanzib Wesa @jahanzibwesa]

For over 1000 days, Afghan women have been denied education, freedom, and a voice under Taliban rule.

Facing oppression, imprisonment, and torture, their fight for basic rights continues, while the world largely stays silent. We cannot ignore their courage.

[UN Women @UN_Women]

4 years after the Taliban takeover in #Afghanistan, Afghans overwhelmingly back girls’ education.

In a country where half the population lives in poverty, #education can change a girl’s life trajectory.

🔗 See our new Gender Alert: https://t.co/BwYtvm61kW

#ForAllWomenAndGirls

[Maya Noor @MaayaaNoor]

In Afghanistan, beauty has been criminalized for women.
A colorful dress, a touch of makeup, even a smile is forbidden.
The Taliban fear women’s presence more than anything else.
#NoToTaliban #StandWithAfghanWomen #Freedom

[Jahanzib Wesa @jahanzibwesa]

Afghan women and girls inside of Afghanistan: “Our lives are in darkness, yet our voices remain. Even if I cannot speak freely, my heart cries out to the world. Stand with us, raise your voice for us, demand our freedom and dignity. We need your solidarity now.” #Afghanistan

[Neema Lugangira @neemalugangira]

🌍 I am honoured to begin my new chapter in Brussels as the first-ever Secretary General of Women Political Leaders (WPL) — a global community of women leaders: Presidents, Vice Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, and Mayors; where we aim to advance and strengthen women’s representation in politics and amplify their voice, influence, and leadership across multisectoral thematic areas. #ImpactLeadership
//
🌍 Nimeanza ukurasa mpya jijini Brussels kama Katibu Mkuu wa Women Political Leaders (WPL) — Jumuiya ya Kimataifa ya Viongozi Wanawake: Marais, Makamu wa Rais, Mawaziri Wakuu, Mawaziri, Wabunge na Mameya/Wenyeviti wa Halmashauri; ambapo tunalenga kuongeza uwakilishi wa wanawake katika siasa na kuimarisha sauti, ushawishi na aina ya uongozi wao katika nyanja na sekta mbalimbali. #UongoziUnaopimika

[UN Women @UN_Women]

From rising risks of poverty, to early marriage, and violence.

An uncertain future awaits Afghan women & girls returning – many forcibly – to #Afghanistan.

We must:
▪️Protect Afghan women & girls' rights
▪️Invest in women humanitarians who support them

https://t.co/D5g4KNY5Fl

[United Nations Geneva @UNGeneva]

Independent human rights experts:

“What we are witnessing in #Serbia is systematic attempt to silence critical voices and dismantle independence of academic institutions.

This is not just a student protest; it is a test of human rights accountability & democratic resilience.”

[Afghanistan Womens And Children S.W.O @AWCSWO]

The Uprising: Afghanistan Women’s Struggle Is Not Just for Themselves, It’s a Fight for All Women Facing Injustice and Exclusion

Afghanistan is a country where women have stood at the frontline of the fight for human rights—despite threats, discrimination, and erasure. But a question remains:
When will Afghanistan women's rise in a unified movement?
Is there still hope?

The answer is not simple, but it is clear: the uprising has already begun.
To become an unstoppable force, it needs deeper roots, broader support, and global solidarity.

1. A Silenced Voice that Still Speaks
Since the Taliban's return, Afghanistan women have endured a system of gender apartheid:

▪ Ban on girls’ education
▪ Prohibition of women’s work in government and NGOs
▪ Restrictions on movement without a male guardian
▪ Bans from parks, gyms, and recreation
▪ Enforced dress codes and media erasure
▪ Violent protest suppression, arrests, torture
▪ Sexual abuse and inhumane detention

Yet, they resist.
Girls learn in secret. Mothers defy quietly.
Women take to the streets shouting:
“Rights. Justice. Freedom.”

2. Barriers to a Mass Uprising

▪ Fear and brutal repression
▪ No secure communication channels
▪ Women’s rights groups under threat
▪ Widespread poverty
▪ No justice or legal protection
▪ Patriarchal norms in families

3. What Is Needed

▪ Local, Women-Led Leadership: especially from rural areas
▪ Internal & External Solidarity: Exiled Afghans must amplify voices on the ground
▪ Secret Education & Smart Organizing: underground schools, awareness, training

4. Is This Uprising Possible?

Yes—it already exists:

▪ Protests, even solo ones
▪ Mothers teaching daughters in secret
▪ Online campaigns and slogans on walls
▪ Burning Taliban flags
▪ Civil disobedience workshops

A living, creative resistance—but it’s not yet a global wave.

5. A Struggle for All Women

This is not just about Afghanistan.
Gender apartheid is a crime against humanity.
The Afghan women’s uprising is part of a global fight against exclusion and injustice.

Afghanistan women are not silent.
They rise—not with guns, but with pens, knowledge, and unstoppable courage.
The world must not look away.
The uprising is in motion.
Their voices will echo far beyond Kabul.

#Right_Justice_Freedom
#حق_عدالت_آزادی
#AWCSWO

[Maya Noor @MaayaaNoor]

We are Afghan women—trapped in silence, stripped of dreams, forgotten by the world.
Every day feels like a life sentence for simply being born female.
Please don’t look away.
Lend us your voice.
Your care can give us hope.
#StandWithAfghanWomen #August15

[António Guterres @antonioguterres]

Great pleasure meeting our first-ever @UN Global Advocate for Peace Maryam Bukar Hassan this week.

Everywhere we look, peace is under attack.

We need strong voices like @Alhan_islam’s to champion the cause of peace for everyone, everywhere.

[FEANTSA @FEANTSA]

🚨 Job alert!

FEANTSA is hiring a Health Policy Assistant to support advocacy & research on health inequalities and #homelessness.

Apply before 10 September!

🔗 https://t.co/GwwgumcTe4

[Jahanzib Wesa @jahanzibwesa]

After the collapse of the Republic of Afghanistan, Afghan women were stripped of their rights, denied education, freedom, & public life. They protested, raised their voices and were punished for demanding dignity.

August 15 is black day. Stand in solidarity with Afghan women.

[Equality Now @equalitynow]

Equality Now joined Indigenous leaders from Sierra Nevada, #Colombia Ministry of Justice, and other institutions in an intercultural dialogue to co-develop policies to prevent #SexualViolence against children and adolescents, centering Indigenous worldviews. #EndSexualViolence