Afghan Women's Network

Advancing UNHCR 5 Commitments to Refugee Women & UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

Women's Commission For Refugee Women, Afghan Women's Network and the member NGO Afghan Women's Resource Center conducted a half-a-day workshop to advance the UNHCR 5 commitments and the UN Millennium Development. The workshop was held On June 15,2004 in Peshawar.

Representatives from Women Commission, UNHCR, International and local NGOs will attend the workshop. At the end women suggestions for how to advance these committments and goals were collected. The committments will be present to UNHCR, Pakistan Government and a copy to Afghanistan Government.

RHRC Consortium Course HIV/AIDA for Humanitarian Workers

Ms.Saliha Tawfeeq AWN Executive Committee Member and Ms.Amina Muwdodi AWN individual Member are in a 5 day seminar on HIV/AIDS organized by Women's Commission in Islamabad from June 14-18,2004.

AWN in Registering Women Voters for the September 2004 Election in Afghanistan

AWN in cooperation with Working Assets and Womankind Registered 780 women in Kabul and Jalalabad.
Since 2003 AWN started to launch several campaigns that aimed the involvement of women in the country political process. Recently AWN organized a wide series of consultations with its members to generate support for the inclusion of women’s rights in the new Afghan Constitution as a result he constitution included a number of protections, and women participation in the Loya Jirga (The Grand Assembly) in December was a successful out put for the efforts took place.

The AWN’s latest, and bold; campaign is to register women voters for the Presidential and Parliament election expected to be held in September 2004. The UN's goal is to register 10 million Afghans, out of the population of 27 million, but in a March 29 press release the AWN said that the process has slowed because women in particular face several obstacles. These include inadequate information about the process, poor security, and lack of transportation. Additionally, many women need permission from a close male relative to register. And many women need to be educated about election “What is election?” “ The importance of women participation in the election”

AWN and 3200 Women Voters Registration
Celebrating the women day with women at Kabul contained a rally on March 8,2004 from Women Park, which took 7 hours. The rally showed that women are secure to come out and take part in social activities. The day was not only the celebration that contained speeches but also was a combined campaign with UNIMA and Women Kind to register women for election and distribution of the vote cards to 700 women for participation in the election. March 9, AWN with 12 member NGOs could register more 1300 women for registration and vote cards were distributed among them.
March 10, AWN could register more 1200 women voters. The total 3200 women were registered through the specific election centers.

Press Conference
To enhance the role of women in implementing the constitution and participation in the election process, a press conference was held on March 29,2004. More than 120 participants including delegates attended Loya Jirga had participated in the conference. It was a good tool to gather what Afghan citizens think about ways of implementing the constitution. Most of the participants agreed that raising awareness about the articles in the constitution would be an effective way to put the new constitution in practice. It was a joint effort by AWN and its partner Womankind Worldwide.

AWN produced 143 Women Journalists

A unique aspect of AWN media unit is AWN’s journalist-in-training program. AWN currently trains women in as journalists. In this session (3rd) AWN trained 30 young women journalists. This program allows women, most of who have no opportunity to attend university, to develop real and marketable skills and to have a voice in the country. By providing training and opportunities for women to cover women’s and children’s issues throughout Afghanistan, AWN is hoping to help create a new generation of enlightened women journalists. The 3rd session of AWN journalism training was ended successfully. The certificate distribution ceremony was held on March 29,2004.

International Women's Day and AWN
March 8 is celebrated across the world as International Women's Day (IWD) and provides an opportunity to recognise the achievements of women and their contribution to society.Each year on 8 March, AWN marks International Women's Day with the rest of the world. It is an occasion that provides an opportunity for us to honour the achievements of women and recognise issues that continue to affect many women and girls in Afghanistan, our region, and in countries throughout the world. This year the celeberation with women in Kabul and specially in Jalalabad provided an opportunity for us to honour the achievements of women and recognise issues that continue to affect many women and girls in Afghanistan, our region, and in countries throughout the world. We are thankful to UNAMA and Asia Foundation for thier financial support.

Jalalabad: To get together with women in Jalalabad, AWN celebrated the IWD on March 15 at its newly established provincial network center in Jalalabad city. The program was titled as "Women's Role in National Election and Implemeniting the New Afghan Constitution". The event contained some speaches and natinal somgs by students from "Naswan No.2" school. It also contained a competition part on information about the new Afghan Constitution Articles. Moreover women participation from Kunar and Laghman Provinces was a good chance to exchange information about women situation in the concerned provinces. The program eneded by a press conference from 2:00 to 5:00pm.

Civic Education Conference

120 AFGHAN WOMEN LEADERS AGREED TO PROMOTE VOTER REGISTRATION AMONG WOMEN

At the urging of the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) and the UN, 120 prominent Afghan women leaders have committed themselves to encourage women to register to vote for the forthcoming elections, and to promote civic education among Afghan women in Kabul and surroundings areas. The decision was made at a January 28-29 meeting in Kabul that was organized by the Afghan Women's Network and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The AWN is a partner of the Advocacy Project, and now claims more than 65 NGOs and 3,000 individual members. The meeting took place amidst growing doubts that the elections in Afghanistan can be held on schedule in June. Two months after voter registration began, less than 10% of the 10.5 million eligible voters have registered, and only 2% of the eligible women.

There are reports that women are coming under conflicting pressure in
isolated areas. According to one report, from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, one tribal council has threatened to fine women and burn down their houses if they don't vote. Other reports say that women in isolated areas are being discouraged from registering by their husbands. The conference will be a good source to encourage women to vote.

AWN and the Afghan 2004 Election Process

To ensure and discuss the role of Afghan women and women NGOs as civil society organizations in 2004 election process, AWN and UNAMA arranged a meeting on January 5,2004 where more than 120 women from NGOs, forums and communities had participated. Women representatives were asked to contribute UNAMA in this historical process . The participants prommised to fully contribute in the election registration process all over Kabul city and its provinces. details..

Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights, Kandahar, 2003

Afghan Women's Bill of Rights was presented to the President Mr.Hamid Karzai by women leaders from every region of Afghanistan, who participated in the third annual conference of Women for Afghan Women (WAW), organized in partnership with the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) and Afghans for Civil Society (ACS).This conference, entitled "Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003", was held on Sept. 2-5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The conference was pioneering for two reasons.

A Sit-In For Peace

AWN And Its Member NGOs Seek Security In Afghanistan.More than 1,000 women turned out for a sit-in for peace and security in Afghanistan, organized by the Afghan Women's Network with the cooperation of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and AWN's member NGOs and supported by V-Day.The sit-in was held in Bagh-e-Zanana and the women who attended mainly came from governmental sectors, NGOs, and schools.

A Gathering of 500 Afghan women and the Constitution Commission
The Afghan Women's Network arranged a meeting with the Afghan Government Constitution Commission on 9/07/2003 at Conference Hall of Estiqlal Lycee in Kabul Afghanistan. In this workshop

THE NEW AFGHAN CONSTITUTION SHOULD RESPECT WOMEN'S RIGHTS

The Karzai government is drafting a new Constitution for Afghanistan, andhas invited the people of the country to contribute. The Afghan Women's Network has established two working groups, in Kabul and Peshawar. Both groups have been meeting for months to draft recommendations for the Constitution.

AWN Provides Gender Awareness For the Ministries
To contain Gender awareness in governmental policies and conducting Gender Awareness Trainings for the staff members of some key Ministrie,. some introductory workshops were held in Education, Health, Justice and Plan Ministries.On October 11 AWN trainers provided the first Gender awareness training for the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women's Affairs and some local NGOs working for education. The training held at the women Ministry and continued for 3 days. The same training held on the Justice Ministry for 3 days from October 14-16. The participants contained the Ministry key staff as well as the local NGOs working on law affairs.

AWN Graduates New Women Journalists

AWN's Second Term Journalism Trainig ended successfully. 24 women got their certificates of completion. The Afghan Journalists Union granted AWN Journalists the ID cards for their high quality work they had done during the practical session.The ceremony held on October 13 at Iran Cultural Center, Peshawar.Ms.Ramina Johal the Coordinator- Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children distributed the certificates to the students.

Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights, Kandahar, 2003

On September 5, 2003, in the historic city of Kandahar, we, the Afghan Muslim participants in the conference “Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003”, from Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Herat, Wardak, Jousjan, Badakhshan, Samangan, Farah, Logar, Gardez, Kapisa, Uruzgan, Paktia, Helmand, Baghlan, Sar-e-Pul, having considered the issues of the constitution that affect the futures of ourselves, our children, and our society, make the following demands on behalf of the women of Afghanistan. Moreover, as representatives of all of Afghan women, we demand that these rights are not only secured in the constitution but implemented.The Afghan Women's Bill of Rights was drafted, signed, and presented to President Hamid Karzai by women leaders from every region of Afghanistan, who participated in the third annual conference of Women for Afghan Women (WAW), organized in partnership with the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) and Afghans for Civil Society (ACS).

This conference, entitled "Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003", was held on Sept. 2-5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The conference was pioneering for two reasons. First, it was held outside Kabul, in fact in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Second, it brought together 45 ethnically diverse women, community leaders in the movement for women's and human rights in Afghanistan, many of whom were grassroots women's rights activists, both educated and under-educated, from rural provinces all around the country. This document was created entirely by the participants, with each right debated and its wording unanimously agreed upon before inclusion into the document. This document was presented to Minister of Women's Affairs, Habiba Surabi, the Constitutional Commission of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, and President Karzai. In addition, the conference participants are distributing the Bill of Rights throughout the country to educate communities about women's and human rights. WAW is proud to have supported the dynamic voices represented in this document. We continue to stand with our sisters Afghanistan in the struggle for their rights, especially in this critical moment in history.

1. Mandatory education for women through secondary school and opportunities for all women for higher education.

2. Provision of up-to-date health services for women with special attention to reproductive rights.

3. Protection and security for women: the prevention and criminalization of sexual harassment against women publicly and in the home, of sexual abuse of women and children, of domestic violence, and of “bad blood-price” (the use of women as compensation for crimes by one family against another).

4. Reduction of the time before women can remarry after their husbands have disappeared, and mandatory government support of women during that time.

10. Right to participate fully and to the highest levels in the economic and commercial life of the country.

15. Guarantee of all constitutional rights to widows, disabled women, and orphans.

2. Trials of war criminals in international criminal courts and the disempowerment of warlords.

5. Decisive action against foreign invasion and protection of the sovereignty of Afghanistan

AWN And Its Member NGOs Seek Security In Afghanistan
More than 1,000 women turned out for a sit-in for peace and security in Afghanistan, organized by the Afghan Women Network (AWN), with the cooperation of AWN's member NGOs and Ministry of Women's Affairs. The sit-in was held in Bagh-e-Zanana (Women Park) and the women who attended mainly came from governmental sectors, NGOs, and schools. AWN members, both NGOs and individuals, also participated.

The purpose of the sit-in, or gathering, was to build up security throughout Afghanistan. The sit-in began with the reading of some verses of holy Quran by Ms. Fiza, an AWN member. After, Ms Afifa Azim, Director of AWN, explained the purpose of the gathering. She told the group that the gathering was neither for political purpose nor for attracting donations for women.

"Today we are gathered here to have peace and security all over Afghanistan," she said. "As we know that after the huge demolition of our country, today we have an opportunity for rehabilitation and reconstruction. The next opportunity which can ensure the stability and a well progressed Afghanistan is peace.

"We all know that new forces of Military/NATO are going to come to our beloved country for maintaining peace and security. Thus we would like to request this new force for restoring peace.

We as representatives of all Afghan women would like to request the concerned authority for quick action to maintain peace and good security all over Afghanistan, which is the aim of all human nature."

Ms. Azim pointed that the Afghan women gathering on that day proved that Afghan women are not just concerned about themselves, but also are concerned for their Afghan brothers, too.

Ms Nooria Haq Negar the representative of Ministry of Women's Affairs, shared her thoughts with the participants. Ms. Negar emphasized the need for security in Afghanistan.

"Today I, as the representative of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, do have some recommendations to be seriously considered," she said, continuing, "For collective women's right, for the making good and development of women works, for the growth of Afghan women's knowledge definitely there is a need for need of security and peace. Thus, the transitional government and United Nation security which were recognized in the Bonn conference should take the responsibility and should work hard to ensure that peace is restored all over Afghanistan.

"Once again I urge that there should be collective security in all districts, villages of Afghanistan to be able to reach humanitarian services to other Afghan sisters who have been waiting for a long time.

"We are the jury of more than a thousand tragic events, violence cases that occur in the districts and villages of Afghanistan and there is no one to take responsibility or to stand for victims rights. Just yesterday we were informed that Latifa who was a school student, was kidnapped in city of Mazar-e-Sharif while she was going from school to her home. Moreover, 17 criminals kidnapped Fatima, another school student, on the way to her school. The only reason beyond this is luck of security.

Therefore, we kindly and respectfully request the military force to take possible action and bring an end to such crime and have more concern particularly toward women's security. Since the Ministry of Women Affairs cannot do anything alone, I would like to request the other civil organizations and UN agencies to work for the abolishment of such criminal acts."

After Ms. Negar spoke, the declaration written by the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) with its 30 member NGOs was read in three languages: Dari, Pashtu and English. Ms. Makay Seyawash, Manager of Asya, and Ayna-e-Zan read the Dari version of the declaration, and received approval from those in the audience who spoke Dari. Dr. Malaly, Executive Committee Member of AWN, read the Pashtu version of the declaration to get approval from the Pashtu speaking audience. And Ms. Orzala Ashraf, Director of HAWCA (an AWN member NGO) read the English version of the declaration to ensure that the international communities understand the aim of Afghan women concerning peace and security in Afghanistan.

After the entire audience approved the declaration, the copies of each version were given to the press and a letter addressing women's voice for seeking security with the declaration was sent to Lakhdar Ibarahimi UNAMA.

We the women gathered here today, in representing all Afghan women, suggest the following points in order to find the stability, peace and security everywhere in our beloved country that will allow for the complete and practical reconstruction from all the points of view, including economical and social, of Afghanistan

Number 1: The existence and extension of military forces such as ISAF and NATO, both in Kabul and all over Afghanistan, for peace and security to be established and maintained for the welfare of all the population of our country.

Number 2: Disarmament of all the military factions which are not part of the Ministry of Defense, Interior Ministry and National Security Department.

Number 3: Disarmament and dismissal of all those addicted to war and murder as soon as possible.

Number 4: Formation and training of a national army and a national police force and the deployment of the army and police all over Afghanistan.

Number 5: Protection of the entire land and border of Afghanistan by the ISAF or NATO forces