End violence against women in Afghanistan

This petition is now closed. Please take our new MP action for women in Afghanistan instead

From abuse behind closed doors to attacks on women participating in public life, women and girls in Afghanistan continue to be suffer violent abuse at alarmingly high rates. Most of these crimes go unpunished.

We can't let this chance slip away

This is a crucial time to protect Afghan women’s rights, as international forces – including those from the UK – prepare to leave the country next year. Instability and conflict could increase. If the current systematic problem of violent abuse faced by Afghan women and girls is not addressed now, the situation will only get worse.

We urgently must stand with Afghan women and demand an end to the epidemic of violence they face.

Our Government is in a unique position

The UK Government has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan. Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening has acknowledged that violence against women in Afghanistan is an issue her department needs to prioritise. However, we must see concrete actions from DFID and the FCO – support for brave human rights defenders running women’s shelters, programmes to see women represented in the police force, political leverage to make sure the Afghan government abides by international laws protecting women from violence.

But we need your support

Ask the UK Government to commit to cross-departmental support for dedicated programmes of work to combat violence against women in Afghanistan.

Tell the UK Government it needs to act now

We call upon Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, and Baroness Warsi, Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to ensure their departments work together to:

Consult with and fund Afghan women’s rights organisations working to end violence against women, including those who run women’s shelters Press and assist the Afghan government to fully implement the Elimination of Violence against Women law and the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan Support and fund Family Response Units (which address domestic violence) and ensure additional measures are taken to increase women’s recruitment and retention in the police Allocate new funding to tackle violence against women Identify and implement specific and measureable improvements for gendered protection and support for Afghan women human rights defenders