‘I Am Alive, but I Am Not Living’: Four Years After the Taliban’s Return, Afghan Women Judges Go Deeper Underground

This piece was originally published by PassBlue, a women-led nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.N. and global women’s rights.

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, one of their earliest, most devastating acts was to remove all women judges from their positions. These courageous women, educated in their own country and possessing many years of experience adjudicating complex and sensitive cases, were abruptly stripped of their roles and authority. Their dismissal marked not only the collapse of their careers but also the obliteration of a critical pillar of justice in Afghanistan.

For years, these judges had confronted insurgents, violent offenders and human rights abuses with courage and integrity. Many Taliban members who were sentenced by the judges even upheld the rule of law at the time, but today, those very individuals hold the power in Afghanistan, and the judges are targets of retribution and fear.

Some individuals were fortunate enough to be evacuated from the country after the Taliban takeover, thanks to the coordinated efforts of governments and organizations like the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). Countries such as the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil and several other European nations provided resettlement and sanctuary. For these women, this relocation has provided safety and the chance to rebuild their lives.

However, approximately 45 women judges remain trapped in limbo. Some live in hiding inside Afghanistan, unable to resume work or normal life. Others are stranded in countries like Pakistan, where they face expired visas, a lack of legal status and looming deportation risks. Their future is increasingly precarious.

I sent a Taliban member through the rule of law to prison. He commands the Taliban. I barely speak above a whisper. I do not leave my home.

A judge still living in Kabul

Relatedly, since September 2023, the United Nations reports that more than 2.43 million undocumented Afghans have returned — many forcibly – from Pakistan and Iran. A new study from the Afghanistan Gender in Humanitarian Action working group says that women and girls represent one-third of returnees from Iran so far in 2025, and about half of all returnees from Pakistan.

“I served as a judge for over a decade,” one woman in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, told me. “I have waited years for my refugee application with the U.S. but received no updates. My children cannot attend school. I cannot legally work. We survive in fear and silence.”

Another judge, still living in Kabul, spoke quietly, saying: “I sent a Taliban member through the rule of law to prison. He commands the Taliban. I barely speak above a whisper. I do not leave my home. I am alive, but I am not living.”

As a former Afghan judge advocate who survived assassination attempts from the Taliban, I have a deep emotional connection to this work. Since Aug. 18, 2021, I have been campaigning for the freedom of women judges still living in Afghanistan, amplifying their stories on a global scale and emphasizing the urgent need for action from my base in Britain.

I am encouraged by the news of the launch of a People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan before the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (opinion tribunal), an initiative by civil society groups in the country to create a path to hold the Taliban to account for their gender persecution in Afghanistan.  

The route to safety through outside channels has been obstructed by complex bureaucracy and dashed hopes. The U.S. P1 refugee program, once a vital lifeline, was discontinued by the current Trump administration and replaced by new immigration rules that have caused confusion and delays, leaving many judges stranded while widening the twilight zone of legal abandonment and physical threat.

Meanwhile, the German government, despite initial commitments, has rejected multiple humanitarian applications from Afghan women judges without providing explanations, thus deepening their despair and legal uncertainty.

Many of these women in their asylum applications have been asked to submit extensive documentation to prove their eligibility, documents that are nearly impossible to obtain while in hiding or under threat. Each submission carries hope; each rejection deepens their trauma.

Time is running out. Host countries like Pakistan have begun deporting undocumented Afghans, pushing these women closer to forced return to the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a potentially fatal prospect.

Although the global spotlight has dimmed, the danger remains real and immediate. These judges, still known and targeted by the Taliban, face grave risks. The international community must not let them fall through the cracks.

Governments and international organizations must urgently accelerate asylum and resettlement processes, prioritizing Afghan women judges and their families; simplify visa and humanitarian pathways, recognizing the impossibility of meeting rigid documentation requirements under current conditions; and provide legal aid, psychological support and financial assistance to those women who are stranded and vulnerable.

These actions are acts of justice owed to women who risked their lives defending the rule of law.

Nearly four years have passed since Kabul fell. While some Afghan women judges have found refuge abroad, many remain in peril, silenced, displaced and forgotten.

One judge’s words resonate immensely: “We dedicated our lives to justice. Now, all we ask is that justice be granted to us.”