In the last week, horrific scenes of women being shot and kidnapped off the streets of Afghanistan have emerged.  This is the latest development in Afghanistan of femicide -  in which the Taliban are trying to remove all traces of women in any space outside the home or in any role other than a home maker or child bearer.

The Taliban regime gained power due to, and despite, Western intervention.  And now, both the regime and Talib individuals are funded by foreign money. The Taliban have access to medical care, food and education that other Afghans do not. They send their daughters to school overseas while that right has been stripped from all other girls living in Afghanistan. 

None of this foreign money is going to ordinary Afghans.  Afghanistan is in the bottom ten countries in the Human Development Index - despite decades of aid.

I call on the Australian Government and businesses to investigate any ties the Australian Government, businesses or individuals have to countries and companies trading with the Taliban.
  
I call on the Australian Government and businesses to apply pressure to the trading partners of the Taliban to tie any money to verifiable basic human rights standards - the right to life, the right to exist outside the home, education, health, etc. 

Australia has an obligation to uphold global human rights and in the face of escalating violence and abuse against women in Afghanistan, our government should act with the utmost urgency. 

As many Afghan women bravely protest the Taliban on the streets of Afghanistan, only to be met with devastating violence, we must do all we can to support them. 

What you can do:

1. Sign this petition
2. If you have information about trading partners of the Taliban, speak up - give your information to  a human rights organisation - Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, etc
3. If you are a citizen of another country, create a similar petition to pressure your Government and businesses.