Afghanistan's women are the guarantee of stability

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  Afghanistan's women are the guarantee of stability

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• The year 2021: This year could be the historic year of peace in Afghanistan. Ending the now two-decades-long war is desirable for all parties involved. But the real threat now is that peace may come at the cost human rights of the Afghan women.
• US withdrawing rapidly: The U.S. President Joe Biden’s slated Sept. 11 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will undermine the Afghan government’s ongoing negotiations with the Taliban and deepen insecurity in the country, especially if troops leave before a long-term political solution is achieved. An unconditional U.S. exit will not provide the time needed for negotiating parties to engage in a meaningful peace process. Rushed dialogue risks sidelining Afghan women and all of the gains made over the years.
• Women and the Taliban: Studies show that peace outcomes are more sustainable when women are involved in the peacebuilding process. This is especially true in the case of Afghanistan. When women delegates first met the Taliban in September 2020 for peace talks, the Taliban delegates seemed uncomfortable and avoided making eye contact. Over time, the Taliban’s representatives grew more comfortable around the ladies and started to listen.

1. The Doha negotiations may be the only peace talks in recent memory when warring parties have debated women’s rights. 
2. In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban reached a peace agreement in Afghanistan. But what followed was a disturbing spike in violence. In 2020, Afghanistan recorded 8,820 civilian casualties from armed conflict. Despite the ostensible cessation of war, Afghanistan remains one of the world’s deadliest places to be a civilian.
3. Notwithstanding security hardships, Western aid to Afghanistan over the past two decades has created the vital space for Afghan self-empowerment. Few groups have gained as much—and, indeed, have more to lose—than Afghanistan’s women.

• The dark years: In the years before 2001, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, women did not have the right to education and work. Now, they serve as ministers in government, perform life-saving surgeries, and manage international nongovernmental organizations. Women comprise half of the country’s population: If they are unsafe or excluded, the nation will suffer, exacerbating the toll of an already long war. Some stakeholders in the Afghan peace talks, however, expect women to give the hard-fought rights, to reach a political solution. 
• Status today: So far, the Taliban have not yet clarified their stance on women’s rights. They have not provided these details to the other side of the negotiating table—though sustained face-to-face engagement could get us there. At this watershed moment, it is for the United Nations, United States, European Union, and neighbouring countries with interests in Afghanistan’s stability to press both the Afghan government and the Taliban to reserve at least 30 percent of elected seats and appointments in future political institutions for women. Moreover, international aid should be conditioned on protecting women’s constitutional role in Afghanistan’s democratic systems—a fundamental right that should be on the agenda in both Doha and further negotiations in Istanbul.

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