The women of Afghanistan have been awarded the 2026 Chatham House Prize, in recognition of their courage and resilience in the face of systematic gender persecution, and for embodying the determination of a broader movement for women’s rights.
Five years since the Taliban returned to power, women and girls in Afghanistan have faced an expanding range of restrictions on their participation in public life. They have been excluded from secondary and higher education, restricted from many forms of employment and faced increasing limits on their freedom of movement.
Against this backdrop, women across Afghanistan have continued to resist restrictions on their rights and freedoms, including through protests, advocacy and efforts to maintain access to education. Their resistance has drawn international attention to the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan and the consequences of their exclusion from public life.
Bronwen Maddox, Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House, said:
‘The women of Afghanistan have shown extraordinary courage and resilience in the face of systematic efforts to exclude them from education, work and public life.
Five years after the Taliban returned to power, women across the country continue to resist their erasure, defend their rights and those of future generations, and keep alive hope and opportunity for women and girls.
Their courage embodies the determination of a much broader movement for women’s rights and challenges the rest of the world not to look away. This award recognises those efforts and the example they set in the face of extraordinary restrictions.’
Dr Farzana Shaikh, Associate Fellow in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, said:
‘The 2026 Chatham House Prize awarded to the women of Afghanistan is richly deserved and stands as testimony to their resistance and determination never to be erased from public memory. Their fortitude in the face of draconian and discriminatory laws imposed by Taliban rule sets a matchless example for all those dedicated to equal rights for women and to the ideal of a fairer world.’
Dr Chietigj Bajpaee, Senior Research Fellow for South Asia in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, said:
‘No community has suffered more under renewed Taliban rule than the country’s women and girls, as they have lost access to various aspects of public life, from education and employment to the right to move freely throughout the country. Reports of girls attending secret schools and women leading demonstrations against the regime illustrate their courage and fortitude in the face of unjustified adversity.
Through awarding the Chatham House Prize to the women of Afghanistan, we aim to do our part in raising awareness of an issue that has tragically fallen off the radar of the international community.’
The Prize will be presented at a special event at Chatham House later this year, together with a scroll signed by His Majesty The King, Patron of The Royal Institute of International Affairs.
If you or your organization would be interested in supporting the event through sponsorship, please do get in touch with Zara Berry.
The Chatham House Prize is voted for by Chatham House members, following nominations from the institute’s staff.
The Prize was launched in 2005. Previous recipients include President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In 2025, the Prize was awarded to Sudan’s grassroots mutual aid groups, the Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), for their humanitarian response to the war in Sudan.
Chatham House is a world-leading policy institute based in London. Our mission is to address geopolitical challenges and international problems. Through this, we aim to help governments and societies to build a secure, sustainable, prosperous and just world.
We do this by providing independent analysis and advice, and convening meetings of the people and organizations that can bring about change.
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