Global Fund for Women | Newsletter

The image of Afghan women behind the burqa portrayed by the western press presented an incomplete picture. These images made Afghan women appear silenced, helpless and stripped of their basic rights. The general public did not know, however, that Afghan women once played a significant role in certain sectors of Afghan society, such as education, civil service and medicine. In fact, Afghan women constituted 50 percent of government workers and 40 percent of physicians. However, they began to lose their rights first under the mujahideen who took control of Kabul in 1992, and then under the Taliban in 1996. Despite evidence from authentic Islamic texts granting women equal rights and full participation in all aspects of life, the Taliban abused religion as a pretext to deny Afghan women their rights.

As a result of these changes, many highly educated professional Afghan women left the country but remained committed to efforts to restore women's rights in Afghanistan. Women like Sima Wali of Refugee Women in Development, a long-time proponent of women's rights, have been battling the oppression of women and educating the world about Afghan women for close to two decades. Ms. Wali was the first of three Afghan women invited to participate in the UN-sponsored meetings in Bonn, Germany in November 2001, which led to the formation of the current interim government. From the Bonn meetings, two key positions in the new Afghan government were given to prominent women leaders who have fought long and hard to ensure equality for women. The appointments of Sima Samar and Suhaila Seddiqi is a significant first step. As 60 percent of the population, Afghan women must be an integral voice in the Loya Jirga (national council) and run for elections in order to guarantee that they gain more than token representation in the new government

One way to ensure the full inclusion and participation of women in the new Afghan government is by monitoring the aid given for Afghanistan. The world's attention must not waver–we must all continue to demand that women be included in all aspects of the reconstruction.

The struggle for women's rights in Afghanistan has received the support of women leaders in the international community. In the US, congressional leaders such as Senators Barbara Boxer and Hillary Rodham Clinton have pledged their support for restoring Afghan women's rights. At the urging of a congressional delegate of Afghan women living in the US, Senator Clinton called on the Senate to pass legislation addressing women's rights and the restoration of democracy in Afghanistan, and urged the US to aid the reconstruction process.

Through Women for Afghan Women (WAW), Afghan women in New York City have been able to connect with the struggles of their sisters back home. Since our founding in April 2001, WAW has embraced the knowledge and passion of women of diverse faiths, nationalities, and socio-economic status to galvanize a movement led by and for Afghan women. We believe that this diverse model is the only way forward for the Afghan women's struggle. Past decades of Afghan women organizing for rights has positioned them to chart their course in the creation of the new Afghan government.

Fahima Danishgar & Sunita Mehta are co-founders of Women for Afghan Women, which received a Global Fund grant in November 2001 to organize a US conference on Afghan women.