On the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, the “Purple Saturdays” protest movement has called for a nationwide uprising in Afghanistan to overthrow what it described as a “tyrannical and illegitimate regime.”
In a statement released on August 16, the women-led movement emphasized the urgent need to establish a lawful, democratic, decentralized government that would dismantle “gender apartheid” and “linguistic apartheid,” ensure social justice, and rescue the country from its ongoing crisis.
The group declared August 16 a “national day of mourning,” marking it as a grim reminder of the failures of the United Nations and countries that claim to defend democracy and human rights. According to the statement, the past four years have revealed a profound gap between these nations’ slogans and their actions.
“This was a defining test for the international community and the United Nations—a chance to take consistent, fundamental, and effective action against Taliban crimes. Instead, they chose engagement, a policy that effectively normalized Taliban atrocities against women and turned a blind eye to widespread human rights violations,” the statement said.
The movement accused the Taliban of committing systematic and brutal crimes against humanity, particularly targeting women, under what it described as a “medieval ideology.”
“Hundreds of women have been detained from streets, workplaces, and even their own homes. Dozens more have been subjected to torture, sexual abuse, and rape inside Taliban prisons,” the statement continued. It added that Taliban authorities have turned prisons into “torture chambers and miniature hells” for women, warning that female protesters face threats of arrest, torture, and sexual violence if they join demonstrations.
The movement demanded international recognition of Afghan women’s right to protest and called for rigorous monitoring of Taliban-run detention facilities.
It further condemned the Taliban for creating an “illegitimate, male-dominated, mono-ethnic, and mono-linguistic regime,” forcing displacement and silencing dissent across Afghanistan.
