Trigger warning: war, death, human rights abuse, abortion, domestic violence, gender-based violence.

The year 2021 has been quite a complicated one. While the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the socio-economic inequalities in western society, many critical social issues across our borders have gone unnoticed.

Open your news feeds. Turn on the TV. What do you see? War, terrorism, racism, inequality, climate disasters. These news stories represent cracks in our society; Cracks that are here to stay unless we collaborate and confront these systematic forces that create violence and despair. 

Here are 5 critical social issues that you can learn about to help be a part of the solution:

1: War in Afghanistan: Taliban Captures Major Cities in Afghanistan

As the world continues to heal from the pandemic, Third World Countries such as Afghanistan continue to face a humanitarian crisis. 

In 2021, the Taliban won a decades-old war by violently capturing major cities in Afghanistan. At the time of writing, 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians have died as a direct result of the war.

The Afghanistan war is not only an attack on human rights but also women’s rights. The Taliban have banned almost all education for girls and imposed restrictions on their work and travel coupled with an increase in forced marriages.

While making donations and sharing links to fundraisers is one way to support war-stricken Afghan civilians, signing petitions is another way you can lobby international governments into taking action.

 2: Israel’s conquest of Palestine leaves millions of Palestinians in chaos

Quotes like “time heals everything” turn into a joke when a 100-year-old social issue continues to threaten the safety of many innocent Palestinian families.

As Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and mass slaughter civilians, more than 200 people are being killed in these occupied territories weekly. We know that humanity has failed when millions of Palestinians are being systematically displaced since 1948 without a single solution in sight.

When the world faces a humanitarian crisis as large as the conquest of Palestine and the international leaders are not willing to step in, it is up to us citizens to rise and bring a change.

You can support the victims of this conquest by donating here, signing a petition on Change.org, or writing a letter to your MP and informing them about the urgency of this crisis.

3: Ongoing Civil War in Myanmar

As the military seized control of Myanmar on February 1, 2021, hundreds of civilians are being brutally murdered every day by the armed forces. 

With no clear solution in plain sight, this has accelerated towards a civil war. While a civil war allows citizens to fight for a democratic society, this crisis could not be getting any bloodier and brutal. According to the statistics, more than 850 people have died, and over 2000 protestors have been arrested by the police.

Help spread awareness of these human rights violations by supporting the voices of Burmese citizens through donations and fundraisers.

4: Texas Abortion Ban Threatens the Right to Equality

In 2021, the Texas government signed and introduced one of the country’s strictest abortion laws, which prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and makes it easier for private citizens to sue abortion providers.

This law threatens women’s rights by not making any exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape. 

The Texas abortion law is not only inhumane but also unjust, as women have lost autonomy over their reproductive health.

Criminalizing abortion does not reduce the number of abortions, it just increases the amount of “unsafe” abortion practices.

Fight against the Texas abortion ban that reinforces gender inequality by signing this petition and donating to TEA, JDP, and TLF that help marginalized women have safe abortions.

5: The Government of Pakistan Declares a War on Women by Rejecting 2021 Domestic Violence Bill

In today’s 21st century, gender equality continues to be a grave issue in Pakistan, where deaths caused by domestic violence outnumber the deaths caused by the war itself. 

According to research, around 60%-to-70% of women suffer some form of abuse in Pakistan, and almost 5000 women are killed annually from domestic abuse. The rise in cases of domestic violence demands Pakistan’s government to introduce laws that better protect women.

In 2021, a bill imposing punitive measures against all forms of domestic violence was proposed. Despite the good nature of the bill, the Government of Pakistan rejected the proposed legislation based on religious arguments.

As gender-based violence continues to rise in Pakistan, we need to stand against this grave issue by signing this petition and giving donations here.