Trapped: Afghan women judges fear for their lives

After trying to save Afghan women from violence and abuse, Afghan women judges are trying to escape Afghanistan and save themselves.

Afghan lawyer Bibi Chaman Hafizi poses for a picture in her apartment in Athens, Greece [File: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Many Afghans are still trying to escape their country after the Taliban took over in August but few are as threatened as women judges. In 2009, the Elimination of Violence Against women was signed by then-President Hamid Karzai and in the years that followed, courts led by female judges opened in provinces around the country, enforcing laws protecting women from violence and abuse.

Since the Taliban opened the prisons, many of those jailed are now free and threatening the lives of the women who locked them up. Now, the chaos that followed the Western exit from Afghanistan has made it that much more difficult for the women to escape. Today on The Take, we hear their stories and the plight of the international legal community trying to get them out.

In this episode:

  • Fariba – An Afghan judge working for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and trying to escape Afghanistan (her name has been changed to protect her)
  • Wahida – An Afghan judge working for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and trying to escape Afghanistan (her name has been changed to protect her)
  • Kimberley Motley – An international human rights and civil rights lawyer working in Afghanistan since 2008 @KimMotleysLaw
  • Susan Glazebrook – A judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand/Te Koti Mana Nui and the president-elect of the International Association of Women Judges @IntlWomenJudges
  • Maria Patsalos – A partner in Mishcon Private advising individual and corporate clients on all areas of Immigration law

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Source: Al Jazeera