In December, the Taliban issued a decree that regulates the construction of buildings.

Now, in Afghanistan:

Walls surrounding courtyards must not have any windows.

Walls around kitchens must not have any windows.

Walls around wells must not have any windows.

Why?

Because those areas, and I quote, “are usually used by women”.

And, as a Taliban spokesperson put it:

“Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards, or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts.”

That is what’s happening in Afghanistan right now.

The Taliban are literally building a social dungeon for 50 percent of the Afghan people, just because they are women.

A dungeon of darkness and silence, of loneliness and abuse.

A dungeon that must not be seen by the outside world.

There are no words that can fully describe this.

We might refer to it as social disappearing, crimes against humanity or gender persecution – and I am aware that many of you call it gender apartheid.

But the plain truth is: No single term can truly capture these crimes.

That is why it is so important that we hear the stories of women who are experiencing these nightmares.

That we listen to their voices.

To the voices the Taliban are trying to silence.

The so-called “vice and virtue restrictions”, imposed in July of last year, stipulate that women’s voices shall not be heard in public.

This month, the de facto regime raided and suspended the activities of one of the last remaining female-run media outlets in Afghanistan – “Radio Begum”.

One by one, the Taliban are erasing women from the public sphere.

One female journalist told The Guardian:

“I wanted to amplify women’s voices. I did not imagine that one day my own voice would be stifled.”

You can make a person disappear by taking their life.

But you can also make a person disappear by erasing their image.

You can make a person disappear by muting their voice.

Today, we will hear from women the Taliban are trying to silence.

Human rights lawyers and activists, female doctors and teachers; mothers, daughters, sisters – human beings.

I am grateful that so many voices from the Afghan diaspora are with us today.

And I cannot describe how deeply grateful I am that some of these women are joining us directly from Afghanistan.

They will share their stories with us later, through a secure link, in closed sessions.

And they are risking their lives to do so.

My message to all of you, to all of the women and girls in Afghanistan is:

We are not forgetting you. This conference is about you. Our work is about you.

We hear you. And we stand by your side.

Because, as you, Richard Bennett, put it recently:

“An important skill of the international community is to listen. But we also need to act.”

Together, we will send a clear message to the Taliban: Your actions will not be without consequences.

That is the goal of our initiative, which we launched in September together with our colleagues from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands – with the support of countries from all corners of the world and of all confessions, including majority-Muslim countries:

To hold Afghanistan and the de facto regime accountable under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – in short: CEDAW.

I remember how, in New York, I talked to the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the UN about this initiative. A seasoned diplomat, who assumed his post before the Taliban takeover. And who is unable to return to his homeland today.

He said: This is not about cultural differences or traditions.

This is about the foundation of how we live together as human beings.

Just consider what CEDAW is about.

• Equal rights in the fields of education, sports and scholarships – Article 10.
• The equal right to work, the free choice of profession, social security – Article 11.
• Equal access to health care – Article 12.
• Equality before the law, the right to enter into contracts, to own property, and to choose where to live – Article 15.

These are no utopian or hardcore feminist slogans.

These are fundamental rights that belong to every human being.

Regardless of skin colour, religion, sexual identity or gender.

This is common sense.

That is why, when CEDAW was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, 130 countries voted in favour of the convention – none against.

Today, 189 states have ratified the convention.

States from all corners of the world. One of them is Afghanistan.

But we all know that – despite this broad consensus – we should never take these rights for granted.

Afghanistan may be the most extreme case of backsliding on women’s rights. But it is definitely not the only one.

Therefore, our CEDAW initiative is also about making clear to all of the regimes out there: You will not get away with shutting out the voices of women, so as to consolidate your power.

We pay very close attention to wherever women’s rights are violated.

Because women’s rights are a yardstick for the state of a society. Women’s rights are an early warning sign, as we have seen in Russia and in other parts of the world.

But today, just before we mark International Women’s Day, we must acknowledge:

no country has achieved full gender equality. And no country is immune to backsliding on women’s rights and representation.

My own country is a case in point. In the new parliament that was elected just now, the percentage of female MPs is back to where it was in 2002 – more than 20 years ago.

International Women’s Day is a reminder for all of us that we – women and men – need to stand up for women’s rights, resources and representation – no matter where.

Because women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights.

That is why this initiative that we are working on together with all of you is bigger than Afghanistan.

But if we fail to address the most severe human rights violations, we risk contributing to normalizing them.

And I know many of you feel that the world has forgotten about the Afghan people.

That after the shock of August 2021 – after the horrifying images from Kabul airport and the Taliban takeover – the situation in Afghanistan has disappeared from public debate. Some, also in my country, are even calling for normalisation with the Talban Regime.

There is a chilling line in one of the poems we are about to hear, written by you, Mariam Meetra: “Even the mirror will forget your image.”

But let me assure you: we have not forgotten the Afghan women and girls.

And we will not abandon the people of Afghanistan. Wherever possible, Germany continues to provide the Afghan people with humanitarian aid, with food and basic health care. Without, that is, cooperating with the Taliban – this is important to say. But rather by working with international and non-governmental organisations. And the guiding principles for us is: Women and girls must benefit from this assistance. We continue to work together with Afghans on human rights issues.

Nearly 36,000 people persecuted by the Taliban have found protection, security and a future in Germany.

They transited to Germany via programmes set up to help Afghans in danger after 2021, especially the most vulnerable, but also the most persecuted – journalists, lawyers, people who have worked for German institutions.

And even though some political actors in my country try to discredit these efforts, I would like to remind you who we are talking about. The people I just mentioned, vulnerable people, people persecuted by the regime. Therefore, I am convinced that it is the right thing to do.

Not only with a view to these people being persecuted by the Taliban, but also with a view to our own security interests, by making it clear that we will not accept that the Taliban regime is terrorising its own people and silencing half of its population.

By making clear that this regime is also a threat to others.

Because we have a responsibility for these people and for security in other parts of the world.

Because humanity is indivisible.

At the same time, we know that holding the Taliban accountable is a lengthy and complex process.

But we have seen in Syria that it pays off to persevere, particularly in the darkest times.

So that freedom can one day prevail.

Therefore, we are doing everything to maximise the pressure on the regime.

As the EU, in 2023, we sanctioned key figures of the Taliban regime for gender-based violence.

In January, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants against two senior Taliban leaders for gender persecution. A milestone in the fight against impunity.

And the initiative we have launched under CEDAW is another step towards seeking justice for abuses against women and girls in Afghanistan.

We are not there yet. Many of you have family and friends who are suffering right now under the de facto regime.

We may not be able to immediately dismantle the social dungeon the Taliban have constructed.

But we will keep supporting your efforts to put cracks into the walls of this dungeon.

Until, one day, the light finally breaks through again.

Until millions of silenced Afghan voices can be heard loud and clear in the streets of Herat, Kandahar and Kabul.

Until women and girls in Afghanistan are finally free.