settled primarily in western countries with comparatively greater security face their own set of difficulties, including concerns about their overall well-being and the lack of a long-term support system to sustain their human rights work while in exile. Against this backdrop, this research explains the circumstances of Afghanistan’s HRDs both inside and outside Afghanistan. It will explore the problems they face, their needs, and provide workable recommendations to various stakeholders who are rightly positioned to fulfill those needs. Problem Analysis The Taliban’s re-control of Afghanistan on 15 August, 2021 marked a significant regression, especially in the area of human rights, plunging the country into a period of darkness and uncertainty. Since then, credible accounts have emerged attesting to the Taliban’s systematic assault on fundamental human rights and freedoms, reminiscent of the regime’s oppressive rule in the late 1990s when massive human rights violations took place. These violations include a wide range of abuses, on top of which stand severe restrictions on civic space, combined with targeted attacks on civilians, the deprivation of women and girls of their fundamental rights, forced and collective evictions of members of certain ethnic groups and religious minorities, oppression of media workers and peaceful protesters, mainly women’s rights advocates who risked to resist the Taliban’s misogynistic conducts. HRDs and particularly women who dared to question the status quo, as well as the Taliban’s derogatory policies have and continue to face detention and threats to their lives. The Taliban’s violent response to peaceful protests has, through excessive use of power, crushed peaceful demonstrations, forcing protesters to seek alternative venues by holding indoor or home protests, sharing statements and concerns. However, the Taliban intelligence have, too, tracked down indoor protesters, leading to further harassment and detention of activists. It has caused a severely restricted civic space in Afghanistan, rated as “closed” by the CIVICUS Monitor.1 The Taliban’s campaign to silence dissents and activists, characterised by heavy crackdowns, has created a continued climate of fear and intimidation, forcing many HRDs and activists into hiding or exile, with many of them taking refuge in neighbouring countries. In addition to these massive human rights violations, Taliban fighters have also raided media outlets, detained and tortured journalists for reflecting on the country’s dire situation, with those who remain active, applying extensive self-censorship to protect their lives.2 Given the ongoing atrocities, all legal and institutional mechanisms providing protection for HRDs and those vulnerable groups, have been effectively abolished by the Taliban. HRDs who have taken refuge in transit countries like Iran and Pakistan experienced a new set of challenges, taking a heavy toll on their well-being. These problems include, among other things, deportation and security risks, economic constraints, psychological trauma, harassment by local establishments, with police authorities playing a prominent role. Those who settled in Western countries enjoy comparatively greater security, however, language and bureaucratic barriers, combined with the lack of long-term financial commitments from the donor community have adversely affected their human rights work in exile. Concerns about the safety of their family members back in Afghanistan also persist, 1 CIVICUS, ‘Afghanistan: Taliban Continues its Persecution of Women’s Rights Activists, Journalists and Artists’, 7 February, 2024, https://shorturl.at/5Z78c 2 Ibid. 5