Rights of Afghan women, girls under threat: AI

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hard-won rights of Afghan women and girls are under threat, a global watchdog says, referring to the limited involvement of women in peace negotiations.

With foreign troops leaving the country and peace talks deadlocked, the prospects for Afghan women and girls were at a critical juncture, Amnesty International said.

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director Yamini Mishra said in a statement on Monday: “Afghanistan is at a tipping point. As peace talks falter, the conflict continues to take the lives of civilians on an almost daily basis.”

She believed Afghanistan was drifting towards an outcome that threatened to undo more than two decades of progress for women and girls.

“Now is the time for the Afghan government and its international partners to unequivocally commit and work to ensure that women’s rights and two decades of achievement are not traded off in the peace talks,” she stressed.

The AI statement noted a significant improvement in women’s rights significantly since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001.

“There are now 3.3 million girls in education and women more actively participate in the political, economic and social life of the country,” the rights watchdog said.

Afghan women are currently serving as lawyers, doctors, judges, teachers, engineers, athletes, activists, politicians, journalists, bureaucrats, business owners, police officers and members of the military.

However, AI explained, violence against women continued, their participation at all levels of government remained limited and 2.2 million girls were still out of school.

It continued 21-member government team for talks with Taliban included only four women, with no women represented in the Taliban delegation.

In the March peace conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, AI recalled, only one woman was included in the 16-member government delegation.

Mishra remarked: “The significant under-representation and frequent side-lining of women throughout these talks is indicative of how far there is still to go.

“These negotiations will shape the future for women and girls in Afghanistan and their voices must be heard. The Afghan government must ensure inclusive and meaningful participation of women in the talks.”

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