Women

  • Urgent Demand for Inclusion in the “Accelerated Afghan Peace Talks”

    Afghan society including civil society organisations, community leaders, religious scholars, youth, women activists and networks, victims, professional organisations, religious scholars, Tribal/Community leaders, scholars, experts, men and more, have in this historic National Peace Gathering, brought together over 1350 Afghan society representatives from every District and Province in Afghanistan and many more Afghan Diaspora have participated via a Facebook livestream.

    PDF icon Statement of National Peace Gathering-English Version.pdf
  • Beyond Kabul: Women Peace Builder's Reflection on the Peace Process and the Impact of Covid-19

    This research report was drafted by the Afghan Women’s Educational Center (AWEC), synthesizing insights from one hundred and fifty telephone interviews with women peacebuilders and negotiators from eight provinces of Afghanistan (Badakhshan, Kandahar, Herat, Helmand, Paktia, Nangarhar, Kabul, Balkh). It was conducted at a critical juncture, as the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) entered into talks with the Taliban. Since the beginning of the United States talks with the Taliban, women across Afghanistan have increased their voice for women participation in peace processes as equal citizen of the country in welcoming the possibility of peace, while raising concerns that their rights may be compromised if the process is conducted hastily and they are not substantially represented. This policy brief aims to ensure that women’s voices are heard in upcoming political dialogues and during the intra-Afghan peace process.

    PDF icon Beyond-Kabul-Eng.pdf
  • Survey of The Afghan People on The Intra-Afghan Peace Negotiations

    By Maryam Baryalay and Nasim Sadat of Social Research and Analysis Organisation; The survey of the Afghan people on the intra-Afghan peace process was conducted to explore the position of the Afghan population on key points and principal issues relating to the peace talks. The Afghan peace process has been lengthy and arduous, marked by breakthroughs, talks, derailments, and the collapse of talks ever since it unofficially began in 2008/9. Despite repeated impasses in the process, efforts continued in one way or another to build trust between the US and the Taliban, as well as between the Afghan government and the Taliban. In October 2018 the US government decided to engage in direct talks with the Taliban for the first time—a long-standing demand of the movement. After several rounds of talks over a period of 16 months, both sides finally reached an agreement in February 2020. The agreement contained four provisions: (1) halting attacks against US troops and interests by the Taliban, (2) reduction and withdrawal of US troops phasewise from Afghanistan, (3) releasing or swapping Afghan prisoners on both sides, and (4) starting intra-Afghan peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.2

    PDF icon SURVEY OF THE AFGHAN PEOPLE ON THE INTRA-AFGHAN PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.pdf
  • Afghan Women Demand a Just and Accountable Peace

    Dear Leaders of the Member States of NATO and the United Nations,As we mark nineteen years since the devastating attack on the World Trade Center which claimed more than 3,000 innocent lives and the ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, we send this letter on behalf of 15,0001 Afghan women from across Afghanistan to thank our international allies for their sacrifices and support in helping us rebuild our democratic systems, broken institutions, and empowering our youth to use their energy and talent for developing our country...

    PDF icon Afghan Women Letter to NATO Member States and United Nations.pdf
  • Provincial Women’s Networks Perspectives and Recommendations for Intra-Afghan Negotiations

    Following the historic National Consultative Peace Jirga, which endorsed the release of the remaining 400 Taliban prisoners, all milestones for beginning the Intra-Afghan negotiations are achieved. Now no side has any excuse for delaying the negotiations. We, the members of Provincial Women’s Network from 15 provinces of Afghanistan, would like to encourage both the government and the Taliban to respect the call of Jirga delegates for beginning the negotiations as soon as possible...

    PDF icon Provincial Women's Networks Perspectives and Recommendations.pdf
  • The Family Support Helpline: Report of Gender Based Violence in Five Provinces of Afghanistan

    This report has been prepared by Afghanistan Capacity Development and Educational Organisation (ACDEO) with the support of the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) and it is funded by Amplify Change.It aims to examine the root causes of violence in Afghanistan and their link with mental health issues by analysing the Family Support Helpline (6464) data calls which have been recorded from January 2016 to March 2019, from five provinces of the county; Balkh, Bamiyan, Panjshir, Kabul and Herat.

    PDF icon GBV Consolidated Report_Final.pdf
  • Pushing the envelope: Creating successful and inclusive women’s rights programming in Afghanistan – what is possible and how?

    This paper looks at the experiences of delivering the three-year European Union-funded project called 'Strengthening women’s role in peace' (2016–2019). The project  made significant progress on issues related to women’s participation and protection by adopting a considered, conflict-sensitive approach to engagement based on a thorough and nuanced understanding of the actors who are able to influence a project's activities and participants. International Alert and the Peace Training and Research Organisation (PTRO) look back at their experience of delivering this work and highlight key points that shed light on the methods and approaches that can be used in similar programming in the future.

    PDF icon WomensRightsProgrammingPossibilities_2018.pdf
  • Farkunda Trust - Statement and AGM Report 2018

    The Farkunda Trust seeks to support young women to excel academically and professionally so they may become financially independant and inspire young women to pursue higher education. Systematic discrimination restricts women’s access to education: the Farkhunda Trust aims to create safe spaces for Afghan women to pursue their education. The selection criteria for the scholarships will specifically target academically talented girls who have struggled with violence or have financial difficulties. To find out more about the Farkunda Trust there are two key documents published in December 2018. The Farkunda Trust Annual General Meeting and Statement on Female Higher Education can be found attached. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact BAAG at info@baag.org.uk or The Farkunda Trust on info@farkhundatrust.org. 

    PDF icon AGM Final Edited Report 6-11-18.pdf, PDF icon FT Statement on Female Higher Education.pdf
  • Reiterating Voices from Afghan Women – from BCA to GCA

    AWN position paper ahead of the GCA.

    PDF icon 1101289991258832606.pdf
  • The Cycle of Struggle - written by Barin Sultani Haymon

    The Cycle of Struggle, A Human Security Perspective on Afghanistan's IDP Women presents and reflects on the perspectives of a cross-section of internally displaced women to promote the inclusion of this group in the ongoing discourse around IDPs.  The report endeavours to provide an avenue for IDP women to influence policies and programming by drawing attention to their needs. The author, Barin Haymon is an independant researcher whose work has primarily focused on Afghanistan, dealing with migration, security, social and economic issues. 

    PDF icon The Cycle of Struggle - A Human Security Perspective on Afghanistan's IDP Women.pdf
  • DFID Strategic Vision for Gender Equality: A Call to Action for Her Potential, Our Future

    This Government’s Manifesto commits us to empowering women and girls around the world: working to end the subjugation and mutilation of women; promoting girls’ education; and tackling sexual violence in conflict.

    PDF icon Strategic-vision-gender-equality.pdf
  • Women’s voices in the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security: Afghanistan Report

    This report details the findings from consultations in Afghanistan which focused on key women, peace and security themes: women’s participation, violence against women, and institutions, security, and legal frameworks protecting women’s rights. Consultations informed the development of a new UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP) and support further engagement with national civil society by the UK.

    PDF icon Afghanistan NAP Consultations report.pdf
  • UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security 2018-2022

    The UK NAP is jointly owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Department for International Development (DFID), supported by the Stabilisation Unit. It was produced in collaboration with civil society and academics including the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) network of UK-based NGOs and the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security and following in-country civil society consultations in Afghanistan, Burma, Somalia and Syria to ensure the voices of women in fragile and conflict-affected states were included.

    PDF icon FCO1215-NAP-Women-Peace-Security-ONLINE_V2.pdf
  • OXFAM: Women, Peace, Security & Justice in Afghanistan after Brussels & Warsaw, February 2017

    While last year's international conferences were important to confirm sustained international support to Afghanistan, there is a serious gap between international political rhetoric and progress on the ground. Afghan women continue to face huge challenges and the implementation of the National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security seems to have stalled. Structural barriers continue to prevent security, peace building and justice processes from becoming more inclusive.

    PDF icon Bayan_WPSJ_Discussion_Paper.pdf
  • WRN: Afghanistan's internally displaced women - complex realities, September 2016

    The Women's Regional Network documented the everyday realities of internally displaced Afghan women, as they cope with disrupted livelihoods, divided families and destroyed homesteads. WRN conducted a study among the IDP population in Kabul. Conversations with the IDP population reveals several shortfalls in the National Policy with regards to addressing the needs of longterm IDPs in Kabul. Their report highlights issues such as child labour, health and hygiene, and rights violations.  This report contains recommendations, as does the attached recommendations specific to the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016. 

    PDF icon WRN_Internally displaced womenSEPT2016_web.pdf, PDF icon WRN Afghanistan document for Brussels on IDP women.pdf

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