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Since September 11, the treatment
of women under the Taliban has been
widely publicized. The Taliban's war
on women meant that women were totally
excluded from participation, and even
visibility, in society. Under Taliban
rule, women were forbidden from leaving
the home unless accompanied by a male
relative. They were refused access
to education and employment. Forced
to wear the burqa, a head-to-toe covering
with only a mesh-covered slit for
the eyes, they were beaten, or worse,
for any perceived lack of humility
- such as clicking heels too loudly
on the pavement or accidentally exposing
an ankle while walking.
The recent defeat of the Taliban provides
an opportunity for Afghan women to
take back some of the rights that
have been denied to them. However,
this will not happen automatically.
Though the interim government has
taken steps to promote the rights
of girls and women, for example, by
establishing the Ministry for Women's
Affairs, we must ensure that the new
government respects the basic human
rights of all girls and women. Women
and girls must be involved in all
stages of reconstruction of Afghanistan
and their human rights must be non
negotiable.
On December 4 and 5 in Brussels, at
the request of Afghan women for solidarity
and support, five international women's
organizations - Equality
Now, V-Day,
the Center for Strategic Initiatives
of Women, the European Women's Lobby,
and The
Feminist Majority - convened the
Afghan Women's Summit for Democracy.
Forty Afghan women leaders from Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian
Republics, Russia, Europe, the United
States and Canada gathered at this
historic meeting to discuss the future
of their country and the role of women
in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
The Summit was the largest global
gathering of Afghan women leaders
to focus on the role of women in post-Taliban
Afghanistan.
At the close of the Afghan Women's
Summit, the Afghan women delegates
adopted The Brussels Proclamation,
a blueprint that outlines in detail
their comprehensive vision for the
future and specifies immediate reconstruction
needs. The Proclamation represents
an historic expression of their long
held dreams and aspirations, together
with a list of concrete demands in
the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
One of these demands is for:
· Making all support, including
monetary, from the international community
conditional on the rights and treatment
of women
The complete text of the Brussels
Proclamation can be found on www.equalitynow.org
In January 2002, donor nations pledged
$4.5 billion in aid for the reconstruction
of Afghanistan over the next two years,
with the U.S. pledging $297 million
for reconstruction efforts.
The international community can support
the call of Afghan women by campaigning
to ensure that the funds allocated
by the international community for
the reconstruction of Afghanistan
are conditioned on the full participation
of women. The US Government, as one
of the largest donor governments,
should sign on to this demand. Please
write to Secretary of State Colin
Powell and ask him to support the
women and girls of Afghanistan by
making non-humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
conditional on the basic human rights
of girls and women.
Please write to Secretary of State
Powell at:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
Fax: 202-261-8577
Send an e-mail to the Secretary of State
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