Evacuating Women Judges in Afghanistan: a tale of international feminist solidarity

Contributor(s): Bee Rowlatt, Fawzia Amini, Baroness Kennedy | The fall of Kabul last summer was a minute-by-minute tragedy, as the Taliban swept to power and many Afghans desperately tried to escape. Among the most vulnerable were women lawyers who had formerly stood up to the Taliban, and as the ‘death lists’ began to circulate, these women had the most to lose. But as we witnessed the rolling back of human rights, the events of last August also summoned acts of immense courage and selflessness. In the spirt of Mary Wollstonecraft, Baroness Kennedy shares the extraordinary stories behind the evacuation of Afghan women judges following the fall of Kabul, and her own connection to their escape. This exchange examines the hopes for women's rights internationally, set the story we all watched on the news into the framework of international justice, and consider those who are left behind.