Underground Schools: Education Beyond the Ban
Young women in Kabul celebrate graduation from an underground
school IANGEL supports
Despite ongoing restrictions on girls’ education in Afghanistan, the underground schools supported by IANGEL continue to provide safe spaces for learning, connection, and hope.
This year, students and teachers demonstrated remarkable resilience as classrooms adapted to growing challenges while continuing to offer education to girls otherwise denied access to school. These schools remain a vital source of empowerment and resistance against the erasure of women and girls from public life.
“Before attending this school, we were at home with no hope and no dreams. All our dreams were shattered when our schools were closed. But now we are dreaming again!” -Manzora*, a student at an underground school in Northern Kabul
*For security reasons, participants are referred to by pseudonyms in this article.
PUBLISHED: The Urgent Call for Action and Accountability in Afghanistan
Since 2023, IANGEL has collaborated with project partner Femena to conduct comprehensive legal research and analysis of the Taliban’s repressive edicts as violations of international law. In April of 2026, the resulting work of international legal scholarship, Bread, Work, Freedom! The Urgent Call for Action and Accountability in Afghanistan was published in the UC Law SF International Law Review. 49 UC Law SF Int’l. L.Rev. 59 (2026).
Co-authored by IANGEL’s Nancy J. Newman and Mahwish Moazzam and Femena’s Zubaida Akbar and Sussan Tahmasebi, the Article examines the systematic degradation of women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021, and the resulting violations of international law. It includes an historical perspective of women’s rights before the takeover, first-hand accounts of life under the current regime. IANGEL and Femena are proud to contribute this important work to highlight the importance of action and accountability to address the outrageous oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan today.
IANGEL at CSW70: Global Conversations on Gender Equality at the UN
In March, IANGEL proudly joined over 5000 advocates from civil society organizations and feminist from around the world for the UN’s 70th Meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York. At CSW70, feminist NGOs convened to discuss how to strengthen access to justice for women and girls, promote inclusive and equitable legal systems, and ensure women’s participation in public life.
IANGEL was represented at CSW70 by founder and CEO Nancy Newman and key staff members Samman Masud and Mariam Atahi, and joined by board member Shreya Mazumdar. We met with Ambassador Naseer Faiq of the permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN in New York. At his invitation, we attended prominent sessions at the UN focused on the grave impacts of Taliban’s edicts against the human rights of Afghan women and girls. These discussions highlighted the urgent need for international accountability and solidarity with Afghan women and girls, while creating space for advocates to discuss strategies for remaining resilient in the face oppression.
At CSW70 Side Event on Education in Afghanistan; IANGEL’s Mariam Atahi, Nancy Newman, and Shreya Mazumdar at office of Ambassador Faiq
As part of our engagement at CSW70, IANGEL hosted a virtual parallel event, Building Hope: Advancing Gender Justice in Challenging Times. Moderated by Nancy Newman, this webinar featured an international panel of activists and legal scholars Mahwish Moazzam, Natalia Urzola Gutiérrez, Shreya Mazumdar and Zubaida Akbar. The session drew a diverse audience from around the world, including India, Canada, Brazil, and Greece.
Panelists shared insights on the rollback of progressive reforms and the compounding impact these developments are having on women, girls, and other marginalized communities. The webinar explored Afghan women’s resistance under Taliban rule, the gendered impacts of the climate crisis, and the dangers of unregulated digital spaces, emphasizing the need to center women in decision-making and strengthen protections against systemic inequalities online and offline. Watch the webinar here.
IANGEL Supports Telehealth Access to Mifepristone
This year, IANGEL continued its advocacy to protect access to medication abortion. In February, we joined more than 100 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in filing an amicus brief in federal district court opposing Louisiana’s effort to reinstate an in-person requirement for obtaining mifepristone, a medication commonly used in abortion care. While the district court denied Louisiana’s request for preliminary relief, allowing patients to continue accessing mifepristone through telehealth and mail while the FDA’s review proceeds, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals promptly reversed that decision effectively imposing the in-person dispensing requirement nationwide.
In response, IANGEL was proud to join a coalition of 163 health and justice organizations in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States, seeking an emergency stay of the Fifth Circuit’s decision. On May 14, 2026, SCOTUS granted the stay, preserving access to mifepristone remotely while the FDA’s review proceeds.
Voices of Resilience: Afghan Women Lawyers on IWD
“I want to grow, not only for myself, but so I can also hold someone’s hand. I believe a person becomes more valuable when their progress is not limited to themselves.” — Athena
Since 2023, IANGEL has fostered and grown a network of women lawyers inside Afghanistan, to provide a bridge of professional, economic, and emotional support as they endure unprecedented Taliban oppression and still use their professional skills to assist women in crisis in their communities. On March 6, 2026, we celebrated International Women’s Day with our BRIDGE group in Afghanistan via Google Meet, and they made wonderful presentations to inspire us all.
Bahara*, a lawyer in Laghman province, spoke about the importance of this day and honored Afghan women, who continue to withstand new forms of rampant gender discrimination under the growing Taliban edicts. Throughout the event, participants reflected on the challenges facing women in Afghanistan and their enduring resilience through poetry, educational presentations, and virtual skits depicting the deteriorating state of women’s lives.
This spirit of resistance and reflection was echoed by Hafsa*, a BRIDGE participant who was both a lawyer and a university professor prior to the Taliban’s ban on women’s work. She presented on the importance of women and respect accorded to them in Islam. Using context from the Quran, she explained how the ideas of women’s agency and freedom were rooted in Islamic principles and reiterated through specific examples that the Taliban’s rule is antithetical to Islam.
The discussion also looked toward the future, with 14-year old guest speaker Donya* sharing a presentation about her dreams of living in freedom and the sadness of waking to be deprived of going to school.
Listen to Donya’s moving comments:
The BRIDGE participants concluded their celebration by presenting their original artwork, each with her own comments of feminist resistance, strength, and hope.
*For security reasons, participants are referred to by pseudonyms throughout this article.
IANGEL Board Member Exposes AI Bias
IANGEL is proud to highlight the work of board member and legal scholar Dr. Mahwish Moazzam, whose recent research examines the discriminatory impacts of artificial intelligence on religious identity and representation. While experimenting with an AI headshot generator, Mahwish uncovered a troubling pattern that prompted her research study. She tested more than 25 headshot generators, and found that every platform removed her hijab, a key expression of her religious identity. What began as an experiment revealed broader concerns about algorithmic bias, identity distortion and gaps in legal accountability.
Her findings exposed how AI systems can impact human dignity and reproduce discrimination raising urgent questions for policymakers and the need to adapt existing international legal frameworks to emerging technologies.
Read more about Mahwish’s research in Berkeley Law’s feature.
IANGEL announces 2026 Amel Zenoune-Zouani Rights & Leadership Awardee
IANGEL is pleased to announce that Sara Ahmad* (*pseudonym) has been selected to receive our Amel Zenoune-Zouani Rights & Leadership Award for 2026. Sara is an extraordinarily talented and dedicated Afghan legal scholar, journalist, activist, and educator. Living and working in Afghanistan, she is a brave and powerful voice for justice and equality. Sara’s courage, leadership, and unwavering dedication embody the spirit of the Amel Zenoune-Zouani Rights & Leadership Award. We look forward to honoring her at IANGEL’s Anniversary celebration on September 24, 2026, in San Francisco. Save the Date!
Our Rights & Leadership Award was named for an Algerian law student who was murdered in 1997 by fundamentalists for refusing to give up her studies. You can read more about Sara and previous awardees at: iangel.org/iangel-rights-and-leadership-award.
*For security reasons, participants are referred to by pseudonyms in this article.
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