ABA highlights story of women judges mobilizing to help Afghan counterparts

An article in the February issue of Perspectives (www.americanbar.org/content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/groups/diversity/women/publications/perspectives/2022/february/women-judges-mobilize-help-endangered-afghan-counterparts), published by the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, tells the remarkable story of a volunteer coalition of women judges, both in the United States and abroad, who are working tirelessly to rescue Afghan women judges facing violent retribution at the hands of the Taliban.

The story begins with a Zoom call last August between recently retired Judge Patricia Whalen of Vermont and Afghan Judge Anisa Rasooli. Rasooli, a widely respected and fearless jurist who has served on all the major courts in Afghanistan, told her longtime friend Whalen about the Taliban’s eminent retaking of Kabul and the disaster it would bring to Afghan women judges and the protections provided by the law.

When the Taliban reentered Kabul the next day, all of the Afghan women judges immediately lost their jobs and many went into hiding along with their families. Whalen and a core team of half a dozen international judges launched a round-the-clock effort to save their Afghan colleagues, determined to help as many as possible evacuate Afghanistan. The International Association of Women Judges has been at the forefront of leading these rescue efforts. “We just went to work,” Whalen says. “We knew these women. We were their lifeline to the outside world. … It was like jumping into the deep end of a pool and not knowing how to swim.”

“Through this unified global effort, women jurists are demonstrating that devotion and sacrifice are required to preserve just laws and a civil society,” said Perspectives Editorial Board Chair Laura Possessky. “We want to raise greater awareness about their fearless work to aid the women judges of Afghanistan.”        

The ABA is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan through the Afghanistan Response Project (www.americanbar.org/content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/advocacy/rule_of_law/afghanistan-response), which includes resources and updates as well as pro bono opportunities for lawyers to assist Afghan refugees.