Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray & Afghanistan
Tigray
On November 4, 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military invasion of Tigray, a region of Ethiopia. As the war has escalated, military sexual violence against women and girls in Tigray has spread widely at an unprecedented level. In August 2021, Amnesty International released a report documenting chilling accounts of military sexual violence affecting women and girls in Tigray.
In November 2021, Human Rights Watch report was released documenting how the aid blockade is specifically harming rape survivors in Tigray, a region of Ethiopia. On December 7, 46 members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution urging President Biden to ensure accountability for human rights abuses against women and girls caught in the war and calling on all parties to cease obstruction of humanitarian aid. Omna Tigray is supporting this resolution and also calling on the U.S. to make a genocide determination. On December 16, 2021, The Washington Post traveled to the Ethiopian border and reported on “the final stage of ethnic cleansing” in Western Tigray.
To learn how you can be involved in addressing the SGBV and humanitarian blockade in the Tigray region, you can check out Omna Tigray or contact Eden directly at edenahailu@outlook.com.
To learn how you can be involved in addressing the SGBV and humanitarian blockade in the Tigray region, you can check out Omna Tigray or contact Eden directly at edenahailu@outlook.com.
Afghanistan
In August 2021, as American troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Taliban regime gained control of the country, crumbling the two decades of hard-fought gains for women and girls in Afghanistan.
Here is more information about the situation:
Here is more information about the situation:
- Timeline highlighting Afghanistan’s situation, including political and military involvements of the Soviet Union and the US, The USA Today
- ‘Please pray for me’: female reporter being hunted by the Taliban tells her story, The Guardian
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
- USWC’s letter sent a letter to USAID Administrator Samantha Power on Afghan women and girls (June 29, 2021)
- Contact Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Program Manager Allie Smith at allie.smith@georgetown.edu to make a donation of $1,000 USD or more.
- Contact Afghanistan - Women For Afghan Women
- GoFundMe:
- Support humanitarian aid to internally displaced people at any level. This GoFundMe campaign is organized by Afghan activist Samira Hamidi and administered through local volunteers who are getting aid directly to those in need.
- Support safe houses that are protecting women in Afghanistan targeted by the Taliban. This GoFundMe campaign is organized by the Women’s Regional Network and requested by the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization (SRMO), and Afghan Women’s Skills Development Center (AWSDC).
US Female Senators' Letter to President Biden
November 2021
November 2021