Statement from the Purple Saturdays Movement 

We welcome the U.S. House of Representatives’ approval of the bill to cut foreign aid to the terrorist Taliban group. The Purple Saturdays Movement, which previously urged the U.S. Congress to stand against the theft and misuse of international humanitarian aid, especially from the United States, welcomes the approval of the bill to cut foreign aid to the Taliban by the U.S. House of Representatives. We call on the Senate and the U.S. government to support this bill and impose real sanctions on this group to support the hostage-held people of Afghanistan, especially women. We expect the U.S. government to provide information about the $2.8 billion in aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule so that American taxpayers and the Afghan people can understand how these funds were used and how the Taliban accessed them. The Purple Saturdays Movement previously expressed concern about the Taliban’s access to international humanitarian aid and their use of these funds to promote extremism and build madrassas. We had requested the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to publish a report on the use of international aid. According to last month’s report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the Taliban have received over $10.9 million in taxes from U.S. project partners in the past three years. The Purple Saturdays Movement believes that one of the reasons for the continued existence of the Taliban’s self-proclaimed, anti-women government and the transformation of the country into a base for international terrorists is the covert and overt international aid, including the weekly $40 million aid from the United States, which, according to recent reports, has increased to over $70 million per week. We believe that the theft and misuse of foreign aid and the Taliban’s access to international humanitarian aid, especially from the United States, indirectly support and sustain this group in power. The Taliban have used these funds to severely suppress the Afghan people, especially women, vulnerable ethnic groups, and religious minorities, committing crimes against humanity, gender apartheid, and instilling fear and terror among Afghan citizens to consolidate their illegitimate power. We, the Purple Saturdays Movement, in addition to cutting foreign aid to the Taliban, urge the U.S. Congress to pressure their government to take serious action in apprehending Sirajuddin Haqqani, for whom a $10 million reward has been offered. We consider the United Nations Security Council’s renewal of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s travel exemption a grave injustice to the Afghan people, particularly to the rightful struggles of women within Afghanistan. We strongly condemn this and demand the prosecution of Taliban leaders, including Sirajuddin Haqqani. We urge the United Nations and its Security Council to return to their primary duty of supporting the Afghan people instead of the Taliban terrorists. We, the protesting women of the Purple Saturdays Movement within Afghanistan, consider any support, payment, whitewashing, and normalization of the Taliban’s presence in international meetings, especially the third Doha meeting, as paving the way for the recognition of the Taliban’s self-proclaimed government, and we strongly condemn it. We, in the Purple Saturdays Movement, demand an increase in humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, especially to women and children who are in dire conditions. We call on the international community, particularly the United States and its allies, to design and implement mechanisms to cut foreign aid to the Taliban without harming the Afghan people. The Purple Saturdays Movement believes that cutting off the Taliban’s access to foreign aid will reduce the suffering and pain of the Afghan people, especially women, vulnerable ethnic groups, and religious minorities. We reiterate that Afghanistan under the Taliban’s terrorist rule can become a significant problem for the region and the world. To escape the current crisis, it is urgently necessary to support the formation of a legitimate, democratic, and decentralized government in Afghanistan.