Defending Human Rights and Justice for Victims

 Three years into Taliban rule, Afghanistan remains a ground zero for unrelenting human rights violations. Gender persecution, torture, arbitrary detentions, and severe censorship continue unchecked. Despite these atrocities, global action has been alarmingly inadequate. The Problem: A Nation in Crisis Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, Afghanistan has plunged into a downward spiral of repression. Women and girls face systemic exclusion from education, employment, and public life. Reports of torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests are rampant, yet the perpetrators operate with complete impunity. The Taliban’s return to brutal corporal punishments, coupled with the absence of an independent judiciary, has left victims without any hope for justice. Moreover, fundamental freedoms—such as the right to expression, peaceful assembly, and political participation—have been effectively erased. Journalists and activists risk their lives daily to report the truth, only to b...

 The United States declared independence in 1776 , proclaiming ideals of liberty and justice. However, these ideals did not apply to everyone—enslaved people, particularly Black Americans, remained in bondage for nearly a century after the Revolution . The journey toward true freedom was long, filled with broken promises, political compromises, and struggles for justice. Here’s how long it actually took: The Revolutionary War (1775–1783) & the First Promises of Freedom During the war, both the British and American forces offered enslaved people a path to freedom. The British, through Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation (1775) , promised freedom to enslaved people who escaped and fought for them. Thousands fled to join British forces, and after the war, many were evacuated to Canada, the Caribbean, or Sierra Leone . Some states in the North also took early steps toward abolition: Vermont (1777) became the first state to ban slavery outright . Pennsylvania (1780) passed a gradual eman...