Feminist Peace Network

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AFGHAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS’
OPEN LETTER TO THE PARIS CONFERENCE ON AID TO AFGHANISTAN
12 JUNE 2008

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

On the 19, 20, and 22 of May 2008, in Kabul, Afghanistan, women members of the Afghanistan Islamic National Assembly convened to prioritize the concerns of Afghan women and girls on the occasion of the Paris Conference. Emphasizing a comprehensive approach to development and security, they crafted an open letter on the urgent needs in education, security, employment and health services for Afghan women and girls, urging the international community to fully fund the gender equality commitments of the ANDS. Stressing accountability and transparency, the open letter of the women parliamentarians urges the international community, the government of Afghanistan, and non-governmental and civil society organizations to promote women’s participation in all levels of decision making; to implement programs directed to the priority needs of women and girls; and to invest in women’s social, cultural, political, and economic progress in the public and private spheres.

AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT KARZAI, SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI MOON, DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF DONORS, CIVIL SOCIETY AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, HONORABLE DELEGATES, AND ALL OTHER FRIENDS TO THE AFGHAN PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARIS CONFERENCE:

As representatives of the people of Afghanistan and especially Afghan women and girls, we unite in a single voice to recognize the special role of women in promoting a culture of peace and stability in harmony with Islamic and national values. We acknowledge the support of the international community in its understanding that investing in women and girls is an investment in a durable peace. We applaud our national government in its commitment to the empowerment of women and girls as demonstrated in Article 22 of the Afghan constitution; in the adoption of the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA); and in the inclusion of gender equality as a cross-cutting issue in all sectors of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

Yet today the situation of Afghan women and girls remains desperate. We, the women parliamentarians of the Afghanistan Islamic National Assembly, stress the following priority areas in need of urgent attention:

1. EDUCATION for all Afghans, especially girls and women, is a priority in a society recovering from crisis and under development.

•    Only 16 percent of Afghan women are literate and almost a third of all school districts have no schools for girls.
•    Schools lack physical and social security, and girls are the most victimized by this situation.
•    A lack of budget for strengthening the education sector, especially for girls’ access to primary and secondary schools, contributes to few girls progressing past grade 6 and the fact that only 1 or 4 university graduates is female.
•    Women make up only 28 percent of all teachers, and those are concentrated mostly in urban areas. In insecure provinces, women make up only 5 percent of teachers. Meanwhile, no special incentives are in place to encourage the employment of women in this sector.

2. As SECURITY worsens in most of the provinces, women and children are the major victims.

•    Outside interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and a lack of honest commitment to fighting terrorism contributes to instability in our country.
•    The national army and police are weakened by a lack of modern equipment and training. The very low involvement of women in both the army and police is also a weakness.
•    Poor coordination between national and international forces in the implementation of military operations had led to unnecessary civilian deaths.
•    The absence of an effective foreign policy strategy and uncontrolled borders has deteriorated public confidence in national and international forces.
•    Allegations of corruption in high-level offices, including involvement in drug trafficking and insecurity, directly undermines national stability.
•    Unequal implementation of DDR, DIAG, and PPR processes had led to the decrease of professional military officers and an increase in the rearming of illegal groups.
•    The breakdown of rule of law, particularly in remote districts, means women continue to be victim to all forms of violence and other human rights abuses without access to justice.

3. Peace needs ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and sustainable economic development needs women’s contributions.

•    Afghan women play a major role in agriculture, in producing traditional handicrafts and carpet weaving, and in small business management. And yet women make 3 times less wages than men.
•    There are few well-paid job opportunities for women or specific strategies or allocations to develop such opportunities.
•    Women are left out of employment opportunities in current reconstruction projects.
•    Chronically poor women, such as the illiterate, the disabled, heads of households and the one million widows from decades of conflict, are in special need of well-funded and well-designed microfinance and employment programs.
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4. HEALTH is a basic indicator of development, and yet Afghan women in alarming numbers die from preventable diseases and health complications.

•    Every 30 minutes an Afghan woman dies a maternal death (1,600 deaths per 100,000 live births). Programs are needed to improve the health of pregnant women and prevent material mortality, especially in rural areas. Funds have been allocated for this purpose, but the money has not been fully or equitably expended nor targeted where help is needed most.
•    Nearly 40 percent of health facilities in the country have no female health workers, and only 17 percent of health facilities provide reproductive health services. Some districts have no hospitals, and many hospitals operate without modern medical equipment, ambulances, and quality drugs.
•    There is an absence of public awareness about preventative health methods and family planning, and health education is lacking in the school curriculum.
•    Most areas of the country have no health training institutions, and there is an absence of scholarships for female doctors, midwives, or health care workers to attend institutions outside of Afghanistan to learn modern medical sciences.
•    Inadequate roads and transportation restricts women’s access to hospitals and other health care services.

With these dire facts in mind, we call on the government of Afghanistan to enter in good faith into its commitments to gender equality under the ANDS, and to evaluate with rigor its performance in delivering on the promises to women and girls under the Afghanistan Compact of the 2006 London Conference. To the international donors, we urge your vigorous re-commitment to the protection and promotion of the human rights of Afghan women and girls. To all those convening in Paris, we call your attention to the following recommendations:

1. Invest in women’s progress in all aspects of life: political, cultural, social, and economic. Women and girls need education and training, job opportunities and microfinance programs, and health care and heath education that takes into account long-held traditions and the present insecurity in Afghanistan. Special measures for women’s employment as teachers, as health workers, and as police and security personnel must be quickly implemented, and women’s access to justice must be guaranteed.

2. Fully support women’s participation in decision-making. In taking on leadership roles, women can give voice to their own priority needs, ensuring that donor aid and development programs respond to the immediate concerns of women as identified by Afghan women themselves.

3. Ensure that adequate funds are allocated for gender-focused programs and programs are implemented at both the national and local levels. All implementing partners should be sure that funding for women and girls is accountable and transparent. Programs should be monitored and evaluated across sectors to ensure they are effectively benefiting women and girls and responding to their priority needs.

After decades of conflict, women have much to contribute to the stability of Afghanistan. They can do so only when their full status as equal partners in peace and reconstruction is acknowledged, respected and promoted. As we enter into this new phase under the ANDS, we urge you to move from promises to concrete action. And with the common goal of a prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan, we urge all gathered at the Paris conference to deliver on the pledge to strengthen the human rights of Afghan women and girls in every village in our nation and in every aspect of their lives.

Contacts:

Senator Rida Azimi                    H.E. Fawzia Koofi
+93 (0) 700279578                    +93 (0) 700291310
Rida_azimi2004@yahoo.com                koofi_2006@yahoo.com

Filed under: Uncategorized, Atrocities, Sheroes, Militarism, U.S. Politics, Gender-Based Violence