In response to the systematic oppression of women in Afghanistan, the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan is being held today in Madrid. The organizers have announced that, for the first time, the voices of victims of Taliban crimes will be heard in a symbolic and international forum. This tribunal, aimed at documenting widespread human rights violations and pushing for accountability for the Taliban, has been organized with the collaboration of four human rights organizations and the support of the global civil society.
Over three days, an independent panel of judges will hear and review the testimonies of Afghan women and girls to examine how the Taliban’s policies amount to gender-based persecution—an act recognized under international law as a crime against humanity.
The People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan is taking place today in Madrid, Spain. During this tribunal, victims of Taliban crimes will share their stories and experiences. According to the organizers, this is the first time that victims’ voices will be heard in a people’s tribunal, marking a significant step toward justice and accountability for human rights violations in Afghanistan. They have emphasized that the tribunal’s recommendations could play an important role in evidence gathering and documentation for potential referral to formal international courts.
Shaharzad Akbar, former Director of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and current Director of the Rawadari Human Rights Organization, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the “People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan” is a form of truth-telling and an effort to heal the wounds of victims. She noted that although the mechanism is informal, it provides victims with the opportunity to share their experiences and thus carries significant political and moral weight. According to her, this process allows victims to voice their stories directly.
The Director of Rawadari added, “Formal mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ), are not forums that directly hear from ordinary people or victims unless a case reaches a formal trial stage, and that happens only for a very limited number of individuals. Therefore, we decided to use the people’s tribunal model. Given the situation in Afghanistan, it might take years before any Taliban leader faces trial in formal courts.”
Ms. Akbar explained that Rawadari has extensive experience in documentation and advocacy and has cooperated with international bodies, including international courts. The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO) specializes in documentation and victim-centered approaches, with particular expertise in sensitive and responsible engagement with victims. The Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS) has expertise in networking inside Afghanistan, while Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) works extensively on advocacy networks inside and outside the country, particularly in Geneva and in cooperation with United Nations bodies. According to her, these four organizations, with distinct but complementary areas of expertise, have come together for this initiative.
The Director of Rawadari stated that the prosecutors of the people’s tribunal have finalized the indictment, which will be publicly announced on the first day of the proceedings. She added that the cases have been pre-documented, and coordination has been made with victims so that some will participate under their real names while others will appear under pseudonyms or through written statements and recorded testimonies.
The Malala Fund has welcomed this initiative, calling it a historic step led by Afghanistan’s civil society organizations. The Fund noted that these organizations are demanding accountability for the Taliban’s widespread and systematic abuses against women and girls.
The tribunal’s official website states that, alongside formal judicial processes, creating a complementary, people-driven mechanism to amplify the voices of women of Afghanistan and ensure Taliban accountability has been essential. According to the tribunal, recognizing the urgency of the situation, in December 2024, four human rights organizations; Rawadari, the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO), the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), and Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+), submitted a request to the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) based in Rome, Italy. The request aimed to establish a people’s tribunal to address international crimes, crimes against humanity, and grave human rights violations committed against women and girls in Afghanistan.
Azadah Raz Mohammad, legal advisor to the Campaign to End Gender Apartheid, Mohib Mudassir, an international human rights advocate, and Banafsha Yaqubi, a civil society and human rights activist, have been appointed as prosecutors for the tribunal.
Experts serving in the tribunal include Emily Faull and Shazia Chowdhury from the United Kingdom, Cristina Gallach and Maite Parejo from Spain, Shadi Sadr, an Iranian human rights activist, and Malik Setaiz, a senior Afghan legal and international relations expert.
Judges introduced for this tribunal include Araceli García del Soto, Elisenda Calvet-Martínez, and Emilio Ramírez Matos from Spain; Ghazal Haris from Afghanistan; Mai El-Sadany from Egypt/USA; Marina Forti from Italy; Rashida Manjoo from South Africa; and Kalpana Sharma from India.
What Is a People’s Tribunal and How Does It Work?
The People’s Tribunal was founded in Bologna in 1979, under the framework of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (1976) and inspired by the vision of Italian jurist and politician Lelio Basso. The PPT is an independent, international body that investigates cases of human rights violations around the world. Since its establishment in 1979, the tribunal has held more than 50 sessions globally. It provides a platform for survivors, families, human rights defenders, and affected communities to raise their voices when formal institutions fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
People’s tribunals are independent, civil society-led movements, also known as citizen or victim tribunals. They act as alternatives to formal international institutions, addressing issues such as impunity, particularly where legal and judicial gaps prevent access to formal justice.
Unlike formal international courts, people’s tribunals do not possess binding judicial authority, and their decisions are typically advisory, consultative, or symbolic. However, in many cases, their scope of jurisdiction is broader than that of formal international courts. For example, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction only over specific individuals, under certain conditions, and for defined crimes, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ) only hears disputes between states.
In contrast, people’s tribunals can issue opinions on both individual and collective responsibility of persons, groups, or states. Unlike formal courts, whose legitimacy derives from founding documents and legal frameworks, the legitimacy of people’s tribunals stems from public support, active victim participation, transparency, institutional independence, and the expertise of their members.
This tribunal is being held as, on Monday, October 6, 2025, the UN Human Rights Council adopted, without a vote and by consensus, a resolution establishing an independent investigative mechanism to examine past and ongoing human rights violations in Afghanistan. According to this mechanism, “evidence related to international crimes and the most serious violations of international law, including those that may constitute human rights abuses and violations,” will be collected, preserved, and analyzed. The new body is tasked with preparing “case files to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings in national, regional, or international courts and tribunals.”
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
دادگاه مردمی برای زنان افغانستان: عدالت نمادین در برابر جنایات واقعی طالبان
