Amnesty International activists unfurled a 25-metre-wide banner reading “No women allowed” in Brussels’ Forest Park on Wednesday to highlight the Taliban’s ban on women entering public parks in Afghanistan.
The action was staged as a show of solidarity with Afghan women. People at the scene then covered the banner with a second one, expressing support for these women, before forming a human chain around it.
“The Taliban have simply erased women and girls from public life,” said Carine Thibaut, director of Amnesty International’s French-speaking Belgian section.
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The organisation said the ban on parks is part of a wider pattern of restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan, including limits on education, work and sport.
In a statement, Amnesty urged the Belgian federal government to take action over the Taliban’s violations of women’s rights. It has also launched a petition addressed to Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés).
At the same time, posters bearing the same message, translated into French as “Interdit aux femmes” or “Interdit aux filles,” were put up in public places across Belgium, including universities, schools, political offices, sports halls, railway stations, playgrounds and courthouses.
Amnesty is calling on the Belgian authorities to step up pressure on the Taliban and support the creation of an international mechanism to hold them accountable for abuses.
It also wants an immediate halt to talks on the forced return of Afghans to their home country, arguing that such negotiations help to normalise Taliban policies.
