Inside Geneva: What Justice Means for Women in Afghanistan

Podcast: Inside Geneva
Episode Date: March 3, 2026
Host: Imogen Foulkes (SWI swissinfo.ch)
Guests:

• Fereshta Abbasi (Afghanistan researcher, Human Rights Watch)
• Sahar Fetrat (Afghan feminist and activist)
• Daika Potzel (EU Ambassador to the UN, Geneva)

Overview

This episode of Inside Geneva focuses on the escalating human rights crisis for women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, with a special emphasis on the fight for justice and international accountability. Imogen Foulkes hosts a passionate discussion with Afghan women’s rights advocates and a European diplomat, exploring the lived realities in Afghanistan, recent international initiatives, and the urgent need for global solidarity and action.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Reality Under Taliban Rule

• Severe Restrictions:
  • Women banned from secondary and higher education, many types of work, leaving home unaccompanied, and public spaces like gyms, parks, and beauty salons (02:16).
  • New laws enforce covering women’s faces and silencing their voices (01:43, 08:57).
• Emotional Toll:
  • Atmosphere in Afghanistan described as “very dark,” with widespread depression and despair among women and girls (07:01).
  • Girls habitually attempt to prepare for school each day, only to recall that education is forbidden to them (07:26).
• Historical Perspective:
  • Afghan women anticipated the consequences of the Taliban’s return, citing personal and familial memories of past repression (07:26).

2. International Response and the Fight for Accountability

• UN Fact-Finding Mission:
  • In October 2025, at the EU’s urging, the UN Human Rights Council approved a mechanism to investigate abuses in Afghanistan (09:53, 12:21).
  • The mechanism remains unfunded and non-operational, with global attention and resources stretched thin (10:14, 11:56).
• The EU Perspective:
  • Ambassador Daika Potzel expresses shock and commitment:
    • “Hearing that women are not allowed to work, that they are not allowed to go outside on their own, that they have to completely cover up, that their voice is not... allowed to use their voice outside the house, that they are deprived of education, it's just so, so appalling...” (05:24)
  • Push for “accountability mechanisms”—holding perpetrators responsible and deterring further abuses (09:53).
• US Withdrawal and Global Climate:
  • US aid cuts have led to closure of hundreds of Afghan health facilities, intensifying the hardship (13:51).
  • The US has removed references to gender and diversity from humanitarian programs, complicating advocacy and assistance (13:20, 17:25).

3. The Importance and Limits of International Justice

• Impact of Documentation:
  • Fereshta Abbasi shares the hope that the fact-finding mission will document abuses and assign individual responsibility, breaking the "culture of impunity" (12:21).
  • Documentation provides hope, even without immediate change:
    • “Justice may not come to our lives today, but if our stories are recorded, we have a chance to get justice tomorrow...” -- Anonymous Afghan journalist, read by Fereshta Abbasi (27:32)
• Skepticism and Hope:
  • Legal efforts (like the Myanmar case at the ICJ) take years, but underscore that justice is possible, even if delayed (19:58).
  • The very act of resistance—maintaining hope—was described as essential:
    • “Having hope in the face of oppression is a form of resistance.” — Sahar Fetrat (21:35).

4. The Debate over "Gender Apartheid"

• Afghan Women’s Demands
  • Sahar Fetrat urges international bodies to listen to Afghan women who want “gender apartheid” recognized as a crime against humanity, with major legal, political, and moral implications (16:14).
  • The EU is cautious about officially using the term, though it advocates for women’s rights.

5. What Can the International Community and Individuals Do?

• Solidarity and Action:
  • Potzel urges listeners:
    • “Don’t complain, engage... There are so many NGOs active... Talk about it to family, to friends, make people aware... Write to media outlets. We here in Europe... can make our voices heard and be heard.” (25:14)
• Message to Afghan Women:
  • Potzel offers empathy and encouragement:
    • “I just wish them all the strength in the world... do not think that we have given up on you. We are watching and we are really carefully following what's going on.” (23:45)
• Personal Testimonies and the Power of Story:
  • Abbasi tells of an Afghan journalist in a rural area, whose hopes for justice are buoyed by international mechanisms that record her experience (26:16).
  • The act of telling and recording these stories is itself seen as resistance and a path towards eventual accountability.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On daily reality in Afghanistan:
  “They keep telling me that they live in a country that feels like an open prison that is getting tighter and more suffocating day by day, a system of total domination in every way possible.” — Sahar Fetrat (07:26)
• On the importance of accountability mechanisms:
  “The crucial issue really was accountability... those who perpetrate the crimes, they need to be held responsible.” — Daika Potzel (09:53)
• On what hope means:
  “Having hope in the face of oppression is a form of resistance.” — Sahar Fetrat (21:35)
• On the power of documentation:
  “Justice may not come to our lives today, but if our stories are recorded, we have a chance to get justice tomorrow.” — Anonymous journalist, via Fereshta Abbasi (27:32)
• On advocacy and engagement:
  “Don’t complain, engage... open your eyes and then do something.” — Daika Potzel (25:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:05] — Framing the crisis: Are we neglecting Afghan women’s rights?
• [05:24] — Daika Potzel on the shock of Taliban restrictions
• [06:20] — Fereshta Abbasi on the severity and breadth of restrictions
• [07:26] — Sahar Fetrat on daily emotional reality for Afghan women
• [09:53] — The creation and hopes for the UN fact-finding mission
• [12:21] — Abbasi on what the new mechanism could mean for accountability
• [16:14] — Debate over recognizing “gender apartheid”
• [19:58] — Potzel on justice and the Myanmar precedent
• [21:35] — Sahar on the mental health burden and hope as resistance
• [23:45] — Potzel’s message to the women of Afghanistan
• [25:14] — Advice to listeners on how to help
• [27:32] — Abbasi reads powerful message from an Afghan journalist
• [28:15] — Abbasi on her hope to one day return to Afghanistan

Conclusion

This episode delivers a moving, honest portrayal of the struggle faced by Afghan women—both in Afghanistan and in exile. It highlights the importance of international accountability and the role of solidarity from the broader public. The guests urge listeners to move beyond empathy and engage actively, while centering the voices and needs of Afghan women. The message is clear: action, hope, and the determination to document abuse—even if justice is long in coming—are critical forms of resistance.

Next Episode Preview:
March 17: A special report on the Myanmar genocide case at the International Court of Justice, focusing on women fighting for justice.