Malalai Joya was invited on March 4th, 2025, by several members of the European Union Parliament in the city of Brussels, Belgium, to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8th. She discussed and exchanged views on the dire situation in Afghanistan, particularly the condition of women.
During this trip, she met with several prominent figures and members of the European Union Parliament. Through discussions and interviews with media outlets, she endeavored to represent the women of her country and to amplify the voices of women’s fight for freedom and justice to reach justice advocates around the world.
She expressed her views and statements as follows:
The tragic situation in Afghanistan is so evident that there is no need to go into details today because the Taliban, with their rotten ideology and evil nature, are a globally recognized phenomenon.
Since the day these medieval creatures took control of Afghanistan through a behind-the-scenes deal—handed over by the United States away from the eyes of the Afghan people and the world—they have turned life into a prison and a burning hell for our people, especially for women. Every day, dozens of our defenseless compatriots across the country are subjected to torture, imprisonment, sexual violence, abduction, assassination, stoning, flogging, executions, the buying and selling of women, forced marriages, forced displacement, and numerous other forms of oppression and discrimination.
One of the most shocking reports is about the sexual assault of protesting women in Taliban prisons, which has also been published in The Guardian.
These foreign-backed mercenaries have brought devastation and stagnation to our homeland in every aspect—banning women’s employment and education, plundering national resources and wealth, banning art and music, forcing migration and brain drain, persecuting and massacring minorities, and much more. Unfortunately, the world’s silence regarding this catastrophic situation, especially concerning Afghan women, is shameful.
However, the brave women of our country, from the very first days of these terrorists’ rule, have resisted and protested in various ways under the slogan “Bread, Work, and Freedom,” shattering the dreams of these religious fascists and misogynists.
Some believe that the biggest issue women face today is the closure of schools and universities, meaning the deprivation of half the population from education. However, I believe that even if, hypothetically, all educational institutions were to reopen tomorrow, as long as religious extremists remain in power, the situation will become even more dangerous.
They will enforce their radical ideology through education, which will not lead to a brighter future but rather ensure that women remain enslaved and deprived of their fundamental rights.
On the other hand, the United States claims to have ended its longest war, which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, by withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. But this is nothing more than a blatant lie. By leaving behind weapons and ammunition for the Taliban, the U.S. has not only armed these terrorists to the teeth but has also revived Al-Qaeda and ISIS, which were on the verge of collapse in countries like Syria and Iraq.
These extremist groups are now being reprogrammed in Taliban-run terrorist training schools, undergoing ideological brainwashing before joining large-scale suicide bombing networks.
In reality, by reinstating the Taliban, the U.S. has not only betrayed the fate of the Afghan people, especially women, but has also betrayed its own fallen soldiers and their families while wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.
The Afghan people know that both the Mujahideen and the Taliban are creations of the U.S. and its allies, designed to advance their colonial policies in the region. Meanwhile, so-called democratic warlords, who looted the wealth of our nation, have been safely relocated to your countries, where they are being “recycled” for future use. Through expensive conferences in Western countries, the U.S. is trying to link its Taliban puppets with its old Mujahideen proxies. The same Taliban, for whom the U.S. had once placed bounties on their heads, have now been empowered under the pretext of “peace,” trampling justice, democracy, and human values, thereby pushing us further away from real peace.
I firmly believe that just as peace without justice and independence is meaningless, democracy without independence and secularism is also meaningless.
The wave of refugees is another strong evidence for the disastrous situation and the wrong policies of western governments. Refugees are forced to flee due to insecurity, poverty, and unemployment, and they face numerous challenges in foreign countries, including discrimination, language barriers, and cultural differences. Particularly in neighboring countries like Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and Greece, refugees are subjected to inhumane conditions, violence, torture, and deportations. I expect every foreign country do adhere to international refugee and immigration laws.
In my view, the root of all disasters in Afghanistan lies in the existence of religious extremists—whether the Mujahideen, the Taliban, or ISIS—who sustain their operations with an influx of approximately 40 to 70 million dollars per week. According to a former U.S. inspector, since the Taliban’s return to power, 21 billion dollars have been funneled to them.
Unfortunately, today, the flames of war are burning even more intensely across various regions, especially the Middle East, and nations such as Palestine, Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and others are victims of imperialist policies of big powers. Bloodshed and injustice continue to rage more than ever. Yet, these oppressed and colonized nations deserve a better world—a world where freedom and justice are not just slogans but tangible and universal realities.
At this historical moment, solidarity among freedom fighters around the world is essential in the fight against war-mongers and colonial powers. Since religious fundamentalist terrorists and imperialism are the number one enemies of an awakened humanity, we must rise together against these deadly viruses and unite in the struggle to save humanity.
To conclude, as Martin Luther King Jr. once said:
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” I think now it is that time!
Thank you.
March 4, 2025
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