12 December 2001
Women Can Bring Peace to the Future of Afghanistan, Ahmadi Says
(Human rights, respect, and dignity for women must be ensured) (960)
By Paula D. Thomson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Afghan women must be included in deciding the future of
Afghanistan, said Belquis Ahmadi, an Afghan American activist with the
International Human Rights Law Group and founder of the Afghan Women's
Network.
"For the last 20 years, the majority of [Afghan] men have been engaged
in war," Ahmadi said in an interview with the Washington File. "Women
can bring the element of peace to the future of Afghanistan. It was
because of Afghan women that the fabric of Afghan society was kept
alive. For example, when the Taliban decided to close down the
schools, Afghan women took the initiative to educate girls in their
homes. It was the initiative of Afghan women to organize and raise
awareness of women's rights in Islam."
Born and educated in Kabul, Ahmadi manages a program to increase the
legal awareness of Afghan refugee women living in Pakistan. Excluding
women from the decision-making process not only deprives women of
their political rights, Ahmadi said, but also degrades them as human
beings.
Ahmadi described the significant role women played in Afghan society
prior to the Taliban's takeover in 1996. "Women could go to school,
further their education, women were ministers and members of the Loya
Jirga (Afghanistan's highest legislative and decision-making body).
Women were professors and deans in universities," Ahmadi said.
She recalled that when she was studying in Kabul, both the ministers
of education and health were women and more than 70 percent of the
teachers in Afghanistan were women. In 1977, women composed over 15
percent of the members of the Loya Jirga, she noted.
Ahmadi herself played an active role in Kabul, first working with the
International Committee of the Red Cross as a translator, serving as a
nurse during the Afghan wars, and then acting as a liaison between
warring factions. She also worked as a manager for Care International
and the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), a private
organization with offices in Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad.
Even as most of her relatives and friends left Afghanistan as the
situation worsened between 1992 and 1996, Ahmadi stayed. "I wanted to
be there because I wanted to bring a change and I wanted to do
something for my people. But when the Taliban came, they took that
opportunity, that ability from me," she said.
Ahmadi described how restrictions were placed on the movement of women
both in public and in the home after the Taliban assumed power.
Television, books, games, and music were all forbidden. "I was
imprisoned inside my own home," Ahmadi said.
Ahmadi said one of her friends was even beaten to death because his
14-year-old daughter was seen from the street while cleaning the
windows of the apartment. The Taliban had ordered people to paint
their windows so that women could not be seen from the outside.
Realizing she could no longer bring about change under the Taliban
regime, Ahmadi left for Pakistan in 1996 and formed the Afghan Women's
Network to unite Afghan women working in NGOs, the United Nations, the
government, and other professions. The goal of the Afghan Women's
Network was to promote the inclusion of women in the rebuilding of
Afghanistan. The organization now has more than 450 members in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ahmadi currently works for the International Human Rights Law Group, a
non-profit organization composed of human rights and legal
professionals working to promote human rights and legal awareness
around the world. She manages the Law Group's legal awareness project
for Afghan refugee women living in Pakistan. By building networks and
mentoring relationships between Afghan and Pakistani women, Ahmadi
hopes to empower women and increase their access to information about
legal rights and avenues of redress when their rights are violated.
"Women should be treated as equal citizens of Afghanistan," she said.
Ahmadi said that one of the challenges that the Law Group faces is
combating religious extremism and addressing violations carried out in
the name of culture. Ahmadi said this is a problem not only in
Afghanistan, but also throughout the region.
Regarding the recent U.N. talks in Bonn, Germany, Ahmadi said she
"personally appreciates" the efforts that were made to include women
in these talks, but she believed that more women should have been
included. "We want Afghan women to be included so they can bring up
the special needs of women," such as education, healthcare, and
employment, particularly in rural areas, she said.
Ahmadi said that she hopes the United States will not abandon
Afghanistan as it did following the defeat of the Soviets. She
stressed that the priorities of the international community should be
establishing security, disarming the population, and bringing to
justice those who have committed crimes against humanity. In addition,
she noted that the international community should be prepared for the
possibility of fighting amongst factions, "especially in the cities,"
and that peacekeepers will be needed to ensure stability. The people
of Afghanistan need time to establish a civil society before selecting
a leader, she said.
Although Ahmadi noted that there are differences of opinion among
Afghan women -- some support the Northern Alliance, other military
factions, and even the Taliban -- she welcomes the diversity of views.
"We want democracy and we want people to express what they want, their
different ideas. There's no harm in having different views," she said.
The important thing is that we are united in defending the human
rights of women and respect and dignity for women, she said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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