Spain excludes Afghan women who were granted humanitarian visas from the reception system.

Hamida Sultani is a 31-year-old Afghan woman threatened with death by the Taliban who rule her country. On April 13, this woman arrived at Madrid-Barajas Airport with a humanitarian visa from the Spanish Embassy in Pakistan , but without receiving a copy of the resolution stating that the government is sponsoring the holder's transfer to Spain. This document, which is usually issued with the visa, allows the beneficiary to be immediately included in the reception system upon arrival in Spain and grants them access to accommodation and food while their asylum application is being processed. Without this document, Sultani was left to her own devices at Barajas Airport. If it hadn't been for Afghan journalist Khadija Amin—who took her into her home for 24 days—she would have been left homeless. This newspaper inquired about this case with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Hours later, Amin was informed that his compatriot had been assigned a place in a shelter, which he entered on Tuesday.

This Afghan woman is not the only one Spain has authorized to travel to its territory without subsequently integrating her into its reception system, which is already modest compared to that of other European countries. Only two of the organizations that support Afghan women seeking international protection—the one Amin chairs, Esperanza de Libertad, and Netwomening—are aware of at least seven similar cases in the last three weeks alone. Both NGOs suspect there may be many more.

The day after Sultani's arrival, two other Afghan women arrived at Barajas in identical circumstances and ended up being hosted by Amin, herself a refugee who also lacks resources.

On April 27, four more women arrived, also without automatic protection, although their case is somewhat different. The Spanish Embassy in Iran denied these four women—a member of parliament from the former Afghan regime and three relatives—visas. It was later forced to reverse its decision by the National Court, in the context of an administrative appeal against that decision filed with the help of Netwomening. The court then issued precautionary measures ordering the Spanish embassy to transfer these four women to Spain.

Although these four Afghan women informed the Embassy of their trip, María López, vice president of Netwomening, points out, "their placement in the international protection program has not been arranged," and they ended up with a relative.

Like the other three Afghan women, they have not been "given an appointment to apply for asylum." The official argument is that these people who arrive in Spain without a copy of the transfer order or thanks to precautionary measures must enter the country and then make an appointment to apply for international protection by calling the Immigration Office's designated phone numbers.

This process would be simple if it weren't for the fact that these numbers are overloaded and practically impossible to contact. In the unlikely event that someone answers— some applicants have called 8,000 times in one day —appointments are delayed for months. Meanwhile, the applicant remains outside the reception system and risks having their visa—Afghans' visas are usually for 90 days—expiring, which would leave them in an irregular situation. According to the Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR), 167,366 people applied for international protection in Spain in 2024.

María López fears that the successive obstacles these women face "will discourage them from seeking protection in Spain and ensuring their rights are guaranteed." This could be achieved by denying them or their families visas , or by leaving Afghan women who have been granted relocation to Spain out of the reception system.

This lawyer recalls the story of a Hazara widow—an ethnic group persecuted by the Taliban—with two children, whose husband was murdered. The Spanish embassy in Pakistan “denied her a visa because she had not yet submitted her husband's death certificate.” A law firm that collaborates with Netwomening appealed the decision and submitted that document, but the embassy “has not yet responded.”

López cites another situation: that of Afghan women who have been waiting for years for an appointment at Spanish diplomatic missions. And she cites another case: that of a blind prosecutor who has been waiting for three years. This woman is now surviving "in a tent in Islamabad. Pakistan is currently deporting Afghan women, with the consequent risk of being killed by the Taliban in their country. Especially if they have held positions of power or worked in the judicial system."

“Embassies deny visas to women or their families, sometimes without explaining the reasons, as is the case at the Spanish Embassy in Iran. Then they don't respond to appeals, as at the embassy in Pakistan, and force women to resort to costly appeals in the National Court,” this jurist continues. This requires “finding a law firm and a legal counsel service, which is beyond the reach of most of them. If these professionals don't work pro bono [for free], as we do at Netwomening and some law firms, they are left defenseless,” she emphasizes. “Then the government boasts that we stand with Afghan women,” criticizes María López.

Sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to this newspaper, stating that "the Government of Spain has continuously supported Afghan women since the fall of the legal government in Kabul in August 2021, supporting and promoting resolutions in the Human Rights Council, increasing humanitarian aid, and the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, among others."

In addition to "the evacuation of more than 4,000 officials and their families, the Spanish embassies in Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey have authorized the transfer to Spain of up to 2,000 people seeking international protection. More than 700 of them are judges, prosecutors, human rights defenders, and journalists whose physical integrity was at risk in Afghanistan," reads the response sent to EL PAÍS.

Persecution just for being a woman

The sources highlighted other government initiatives before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to hold the Taliban accountable . They did not explain, however, why the administration is excluding some Afghan women from the shelter system, nor why women of that nationality who apply in Pakistan and Iran are being denied transfer to Spain.

A ruling issued on October 4 by the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that any Afghan woman, solely because of her sex, should benefit from international protection for being subjected to "acts of persecution" by the Taliban. The court cited some of the more than 100 edicts passed by the fundamentalists since their return to power in August 2021, which prohibit Afghan women from studying from the age of 12 , working, traveling alone, obtaining documents without a man's permission, choosing their clothes, or even looking out of their windows.

Netwomening, its vice president points out, has helped at least ten Afghan women appeal the denial of their visas to Spain through administrative channels. If these appeals are not resolved soon, they will be forced to go to the National Court. Of these, López emphasizes, three occurred after this CJEU ruling. This jurist assures that she is aware of other cases.

Of the seven cases of Afghan women already in Spain cited, of which this newspaper has learned, only that of Hamida Sultani has been resolved. Of the six remaining women who have not been included in the reception system, two have gone to France, explains Amin—where they cannot apply for asylum because they must do so in the country of arrival, Spain—and the other four remain without an appointment to apply for asylum.