Member-only story
A Battle Lost in the Global Civil Rights Struggle of the 21st Century
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. This international women’s rights bill defined discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field.”
Countries that have ratified CEDAW are legally required to implement its provisions.
In 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government, which had been harboring the Al-Qaeda terror organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks earlier that year. By 2003, Afghanistan was in the process of forming a new government while the United States maintained a military presence. That same year, Afghanistan ratified the CEDAW.
Afghanistan’s new government eliminated the former regime’s harsh policies toward women.
The Taliban prohibited girls and women from going to school, working, leaving the house without a…