WHAT WE NEED NOW: 

REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE US & COALITION AERIAL & GROUND SUPPORT TO PREVENT FURTHER COLLAPSE OF AFGHAN GOVERNMENT & TALIBAN ADVANCEMENT.

Please sign this petition to show your support in solidarity with the innocent citizens of Afghanistan who have been caught in a middle of a complex crisis. For the safety of not only Afghans, but those who will be directly impacted by the consequences of a Taliban-led Afghanistan, we must ask Congress to take emergency action to stop further Taliban advancement. We all saw what happened on 9/11. Why are we giving up on the fight against terrorism now? We must continue our efforts to fight the good fight around the world if we want to continue enjoying the freedoms we have here at home.  

Purpose: Call for “Emergency Strategy Building” Hearing

Over the last two decades, with the help of U.S. Forces, Afghanistan has created a wave of progress for Afghan women. It began early on with access to education. With more women being given the right to an education, we have witnessed improved socioeconomic conditions for not only women but all Afghans across the board. That is all seemingly disappearing now. Amongst many new problems now surfacing, Afghanistan is nearing a total state of emergency. Since the U.S. began its withdrawal, the Taliban have made disturbingly impressive advances all across the nation, despite being heavily outnumbered by Afghan special forces.

According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, August 11th, 2021, the Taliban seized three provincial Afghan capitals and local army headquarters in Kunduz. As of August 12th, 2021, the Taliban have also captured the capital of Ghazni province. The Central Afghan government has done nothing so far. With this, the Taliban now control two-thirds of the country. If this continues, the Afghan capital in Kabul can be isolated by Taliban fighters within the next thirty days and possibly taking over within the next ninety days. Moreso, the Taliban continue to easily seize provincial Afghan capitals from one weekend to the next. We believe this lack of commitment to resist by Afghan special forces is due to the lack of ground and/or air support that they were used to having in the unfinished fight against the Taliban. For the U.S. to abandon Afghanistan for reasons unknown to most of us is upsetting, to say the least.

We have let the people of Afghanistan down, and we let terrorism win. Foreign Policy and The Long War Journal reported that since U.S. troops began exiting Afghanistan, women in new Taliban-controlled areas are subject to forced marriage and sex slavery – particularly women whose relatives serve in the Afghan police and the military. Hundreds of people have been wounded or killed, hundreds of houses have been destroyed, an unknown number of people are missing, and hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been displaced. It is a complete disaster on the ground in Afghanistan. The U.S. must uphold its commitment to the Afghan people by ensuring safety and equality for its men who have stood by their side as allies, and most importantly, its women. Afghan women must continue to have a voice and equal rights.

As part of the promises made after the U.S. invasion, the following pleas are being made to the United States Congress by the Afghan women signatories below:

●      The U.S should engage in a diplomatic dialogue with Pakistan to negotiate the discontinuation of Pakistani support of the Taliban within Afghanistan. 

●      The U.S. must fulfill its promise to the American people and its obligation under the U.S. Women, Peace and Security Act to protect Afghan women from any form of violence and sexual abuses by the Taliban.

●      The U.S. must continue diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian support to ensure the perseverance of national institutions within Afghanistan, like the Afghan Constitution which protects the human rights of all Afghans, national military forces, and free media.

The world is well aware of the importance of empowering women. Women empowerment brings many economic benefits to a nation, including security and stability. With this in mind, we ask that the U.S. continues to support peace and democracy for ALL in Afghanistan. To do otherwise would be a disservice to twenty years of progress and countless Afghan lives.

Sincerely Yours,

On behalf of the Afghan-American Community