UN Deadline Looms as Calls Grow to Recognize ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Author: Juan Pablo López, MPS

May 1, 2026

HRRC strongly supports international efforts to recognize gender apartheid as a crime under international law, especially given  the Taliban’s systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life in Afghanistan. We urge UN member states to act ahead of the April 30 deadline to ensure stronger legal protections and accountability for gender-based persecution.

Afghan girl adjusts her backpack as she prepares for school in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2021. [Image credit: Wanman Uthmaniyyah]

On April 30, United Nations member states face a deadline to submit proposals for amendments to a draft treaty on crimes against humanity. Among the most prominent proposals is the recognition of “gender apartheid” in international law, a term used by human rights advocates to describe systematic, institutionalized discrimination based on gender.

The push has been largely driven by the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have banned girls from secondary education since 2021 and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s employment, mobility, and public participation, according to UNESCO. As a result of these policies, Afghanistan risks losing more than 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030, raising concerns about long-term institutional collapse in essential services.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, argue that current legal categories—such as the crime of gender persecution under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court—do not fully capture the scale and structure of the Taliban’s restrictions. They contend that the system in Afghanistan constitutes a broader form of institutionalized domination that deserves special consideration.

The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders in connection with gender-based persecution, but advocates say stronger legal definitions are needed to ensure accountability for systemic discrimination.

The treaty process, which is expected to continue through 2029, is seen by advocates as a rare opportunity to strengthen international human rights law. Supporters of the proposal argue that recognizing gender apartheid would expand legal pathways for accountability not only in Afghanistan, but in other contexts where women and girls face institutionalized exclusion.

Negotiations among UN member states are expected to intensify following the April 30 deadline, when submitted proposals will enter formal discussions.

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Glossary

• Crimes against humanity – Serious widespread or systematic attacks directed against civilian populations.

• Gender apartheid – A proposed legal term describing systematic institutionalized discrimination and segregation based on gender.

• Gender persecution – The severe deprivation of fundamental rights on the basis of gender, recognized under international criminal law.

• International treaty – A formal agreement between states governed by international law.

• Persecution – The intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights of a group based on identity.

• Draft Treaty -  A written agreement between two or more countries, formally approved and signed

• Systematic -  According to an agreed set of methods or organized plan

• Exclusion-  The act of not allowing someone or something to take part in an activity or to enter a place:

• Institutionalized -  If someone becomes institutionalized, they gradually become less able to think and act independently, because of having lived for a long time under the rules of an institutionRome statue - The Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

• International Criminal Court - ​The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

• Domination - Power or control over other people or things. 

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Sources

• https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/04/28/a-deadline-for-the-world-to-act-on-womens-rights 

• https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/80/cah.shtml 

• https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/02/gender-apartheid-as-an-international-crime 

• https://archive.unescwa.org/gender-apartheid 

• https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167389 

• https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/afghanistan-four-years-22-million-girls-still-banned-school

• https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/afghanistan-talibans-treatment-of-women-and-girls-should-be-investigated-as-the-crime-against-humanity-of-gender-persecution/

• https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-afghanistan-icc-pre-trial-chamber-ii-issues-arrest-warrants-haibatullah-akhundzada

• https://www.pgaction.org/ilhr/gender-apartheid.htm