One of the foundations of our American democracy and legal system is the rule of law: that our government’s actions are based on laws passed by elected representatives of the people, which must comply with our Federal and State Constitutions, not on the whims or desires of individuals or groups. It is “the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws.” This system cannot survive without an independent judiciary to enforce those laws, judges who cannot be influenced by bribes or political pressure, and who base their decisions solely on the laws as written.
At a recent New Hampshire Bar Association conference, I learned about courageous people and organizations that are working to advance these principles, and how they are under attack in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Through Zoom, we were able to hear from and speak directly to two extraordinary women: Justice Mona Lynch of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, who is on the Board of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), and Tayeba Parsa, an Afghan judge, who is currently living in Poland after being evacuated from Afghanistan with the assistance of the IAWJ.
After the United States and its allies, working with the Afghan government, ousted the Taliban 20 years ago, efforts to build a democracy included educating women, many of whom became lawyers and judges. This had not been allowed under the Taliban, who believe women judges are forbidden by the rules of Islam. Judge Parsa, who holds law degrees from Kabul International University and Azad University in Kabul, has written and spoken of her desire to protect people’s rights, and implement the rule of law and justice. With the help of groups such as the International Bar Association’s Institute of Human Rights and the IAWJ, many Afghan women were encouraged to become lawyers and judges.
During the 20 years before the Taliban retook control, the number of women judges almost tripled, 40 percent of girls were in secondary school, and 27 percent of the Parliament was women. Many of the women judges sat on courts which were established with funding from the United States and the United Kingdom, to enforce laws against narcotic trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and violence against women. Not only did these judges face the usual problems experienced by women trying to achieve success in what has been a male-dominated profession, as Judge Parsa has described, “not being taken seriously, being humiliated,” and passed over for jobs for which she was better qualified than male candidates, they faced the real risk of death. Judge Parsa noted, “For the Taliban, simply being a government judge is enough reason to be killed without a trial. Two male judges were murdered by the Taliban. But for women judges, the danger is much greater.” A group of attackers took over an entire courthouse and massacred every employee in a suicide attack in front of the Supreme Court in Kabul, and in January two women judges were killed.
As Justice Susan Glazebrook, of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, has written, “These women have, for years, been risking their lives because they believe in the rule of law. They believe in gender equality, and they value human rights.”
When the Taliban took control, they re-imposed rules forbidding girls and women to go to school, to work, or to participate in the cultural and economic lives of their communities. Even worse, they emptied the prisons of criminals and terrorists who are now free to seek revenge on the judges who put them there. After Kabul fell, Judge Parsa and other women judges were warned to go into hiding because the Taliban and these criminals would seek them out and try to kill them. The IAWJ then began an effort to evacuate them to safe countries. Judge Parsa described the enormous difficulties she and other women judges faced in obtaining visas, finding flights, and traveling to the airport through “dangerous crushes of desperate people in searing heat, past checkpoints where tear gas was deployed, rifles fired in the air, and beatings administered.”
She was able to travel to Poland, and other judges have been able to reach Romania, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Baroness Helena Kennedy, member of the U.K. House of Lords, and director of the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, wrote that because her organization encouraged these judges to protect the rule of law, they believed they owed them a duty to ensure their safe evacuation. Because these women do not qualify for United States visas available to Afghans who have worked for the military or the U.S. government, they had to call on non-governmental organizations and people to find countries that would accept them, and to raise funds to purchase flights and protection. To date, they have been able to evacuate more than 500 people (women judges and their families). One country which agreed to accept them was Greece, because of the intercession of its President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
If you are interested in supporting these types of efforts, I recommend a more local group. The International Institute of New England is devoted to resettling and supporting refugees, and has recently focused its efforts on Ukrainian and Afghan refugees. Recently, the New Hampshire Association of Justice, an association of trial lawyers, held a fundraiser for them, and learned of their need for funding and housing.
Ultimately, the survival of the rule of law in our country and around the world depends not just on lawyers and judges, but also on citizens willing to volunteer time and money. Support is needed for those who are escaping areas where the rule of law does not exist and people are at the mercy of cruel and corrupt rulers such as Vladimir Putin and the Taliban.
