An economic argument from the world community – that leaving half of Afghanistan’s population out of society sets its economy up for certain failure – could be a way forward.SANAULLAH SEIAM/AFP/Getty Images
Sally Armstrong is a journalist, author and human rights activist. Mellissa Fung is a journalist, author and documentary filmmaker. Deborah Lyons was the UN special representative of the secretary-general in Afghanistan from 2020 to 2022 and Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan from 2013 to 2016.
It’s been five years since Aug. 15, 2021 – the day that the Taliban took Kabul, and made Afghanistan the worst country in the world to be female.
Today, there is an uneasy peace there – if only because those who disturbed the peace in the first place are now the de facto government. But there is no peace for Afghan women and girls. They cannot go to school beyond Grade 6 or work to support themselves. They are not allowed to speak in public; they have been publicly whipped for showing their faces; and alleged “crimes” such as speaking to a man they’re not related to are now punishable by death by stoning. Spousal abuse is legal if there is no visible wound, and child marriage has been effectively supported by the Taliban. And the humanitarian crisis that afflicts the country as a whole – the UN says that 21 million Afghans require urgent aid, and 14 million face acute hunger – has hit women especially hard.
The normalization of these conditions is one of the greatest risks facing Afghan women today, and some say this could be a consequence of any effort to build relationships with a de facto Taliban government seeking international legitimacy. A recent Georgetown Institute report argues that diplomatic engagement, as well as humanitarian aid – intended to constrain the Taliban – have entrenched gender apartheid. The European Commission recently faced severe criticism for inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels to discuss the issue of returning refugees.
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The UN does not have the tools to combat the Taliban’s barbaric behaviour. After 40 years of war, Afghans themselves are not prepared to mount an insurgency. And the West’s economic punishments, such as asset freezes and funding limits, have only further marginalized the country and its people. The international community appears shamefully tongue-tied and hog-tied – apparently helpless in the face of atrocity.
But we must push back on that thinking. We are not helpless – as long as Canadians still believe that helping the world’s most vulnerable is in our shared values.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has advocated for a new multilateralism based on principled and pragmatic engagement through “ad hoc coalitions” with different countries on different issues. This is “principled in its commitment to fundamental values of freedom, human rights, sustainability and solidarity,” he argued in the Economist last month, and “pragmatic in recognizing that not every partner will share all of our values.”
This is how Canada can step in. We could join other G7+ countries and China in the UN’s Doha process, which is meant to co-ordinate international engagement with the Taliban, and make the economic argument for more inclusion: that leaving half the country’s population out of society sets up Afghanistan’s already floundering economy for certain failure.
Girls attend class at a primary school in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on June 8, 2026. Under the Taliban, Afghan girls cannot go to school beyond Grade 6 or work to support themselves.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images
Canada could also join other countries in on-site visits to establish diplomatic channels with more moderate Taliban officials, more progressive local leaders and ethnic-minority communities. This would remind Afghans – and our partners – that Canada remains a principled player.
Indeed, Canada remains well-regarded throughout Central Asia as a result of our 20-year military and diplomatic efforts. Our shunning over these past five years, then, is a betrayal of those Canadians who paid the ultimate price. As Mr. Carney has stated, “engagement is not endorsement,” and abandonment has clearly not worked – in fact, Western sanctions and pullbacks have deepened poverty, worsened maternal mortality risks, and made aid harder to access.
Efforts do continue – by the UN, the EU, China, and an increasing number of Muslim countries in the Gulf and Asia – to persuade the de facto authorities to open schools for older girls, and allow women back into society and the work force. And while hardliners in Kandahar, the Taliban’s ideological headquarters, answer unquestioningly to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada – the absolute ruler who claims that the voice of a woman can cause a man to sin – there have been reported disagreements between them and the more pragmatic Taliban in Kabul, some of whom are known to have sent their own daughters to schools in other countries. While they continue to present a largely united front, any rift among leaders is invariably an entry point for those seeking change. Canada can support in these efforts.
And last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Akhundzada and another leader – the first time a case has been built around gender-based crimes. Canada could help advocate for a trial at The Hague, which – even if held in absentia – could offer more leverage than engagement alone. It would also be a galvanizing event allowing activists to keep public pressure on the Taliban and prevent the world from ignoring Afghans’ plight.
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Canada should also formally endorse the term “gender apartheid” to describe the Taliban’s systematic exclusion of women and girls. This would increase the pressure on the UN to codify the term as a matter of binding international law and, most importantly, send a message to Afghan women that they have not been forgotten.
Since 2021, Canada has provided more than $143-million in support of the delivery of basic health and education services to the most vulnerable Afghans. However, the humanitarian crisis there continues to deepen as international funding dwindles. Canada should buck these trends and increase its commitment to working with the UN agencies that continue to provide aid.
Five years into Taliban rule, no one has a clear answer on how to move the needle on Afghan women’s rights and girls’ education. What is clear is that abandonment isn’t an option. We know Canadians care about what’s happening to Afghan women – it’s something we’re asked about every time we speak at an event. But we can only help them if we restart principled, cautious, but deliberate engagement, because turning away is not the Canadian way.