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Open letter related to the death of Nadia Anjoman (Poet)

Kabul, Nov, 2005

With this appeal Afghan Women’s Network turns to the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with regards.

Article 22 of the Constitution of Afghanistan guarantees men and women equal rights and duties (or protection?) before the law. The government has carried out women’s participation in the political area however, Elimination of Discrimination Against women’s participation in the political area still remain. Afghan women in the capital as well as in provinces continue to suffer from violence and assault.
The authorities responsible have been neglecting this issue and still unable to take any legal action against it. Even though human rights issues are greatly discussed and cared for by the society and the government, protection of women’s rights has not been a priority. The murder of the young poet Nadia Anjoman by her husband, a university professor in Heart, is a symbol of this inhuman violence that has strongly affected people who care for and struggle to protect human rights and human values.

Based on these facts, we representatives of some of the civil society organizations in Afghanistan, present these demands.
  1. Police and justice institutions in relation to violence Against Women cases have to act on the basis of human rights values and the perpetrators should be punished accordingly.
  2. Violence against women must be criminalized and the perpetrators should be punished according to Afghan criminal laws.
  3. The family law must be adjusted according to women’s rights and this reform of family law has to be the priority issue for the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
  4. It is highly important that the Ministry of Women Affairs cooperate in the establishment of women’s shelters in order to protect violated women. It is also necessary that the ministry of Women rights activist and women lawyers associations take this matter seriously and ensure the implementation of the law.

Presented by:

The Afghan Women’s Network, consisting of 86 members NGO’s and other civil society organization

About AWN

Background
Information

In 1995 seven Afghan women participants of the United Nations fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, China along with other Afghan women decided to establish the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) and developed a formal structure in 1996. At the present time there are 72 NGOs and 3000 individuals who have the membership of AWN.

 

Mission
Statement

AWN is a non-partisan Network of women and women’s NGOs working to empower Afghan women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society. The members of the Network also recognize the value and role of children as the future of Afghanistan and, as such, regard the empowerment and protection of children as fundamental to their work. The Network seeks to enhance the effectiveness of its members by fostering partnership and collaboration between members, undertaking advocacy and lobbying, and building their individual capacities.

 

 

Our
 Vision

The Afghan Women’s Network envisions an Afghanistan in which all members – women, children, and men – participate equally. Furthermore, the members aspire to create an Afghan community which values, respects, and encourages the tremendous capacities of women and their contributions to Afghan culture and society.

 

Open Letter From Afghan Women's Network to Iraqi women

We write this letter in solidarity with our sisters in Iraq, as they face a post-war rebuilding effort similar to the one that has been underway in Afghanistan for the past year and a half. We encourage Iraqi women to have a voice in the process, to make their mark on the future of their country and to secure their freedom and the freedom of their children.

In Afghanistan, and for those of us who are Afghan refugees in Pakistan, we are doing what we can to make our mark and secure our freedoms -- despite the odds against us. We are working to ensure that women’s rights, under Islamic law and International Human Rights Law, are included in the new Afghan Constitution, and we are paving the way for women to hold more positions in the new government. To that end, this is an exciting time.

Yet, it is a scary time, too. For every Afghan who supports the most basic of rights for women, there is another who is tries desperately to take those rights away. Demanding such major change in such a short amount of time comes with risks. We know our security is in jeopardy. We also know that now is our opportunity, as Afghanistan rebuilds and rewrites its Constitution, to change the standards for women in the years to come.

We are demanding more rights for women in marriage, more rights in divorce. We are demanding that Afghan girls be allowed to enjoy their youth, not forced into marriage before they have had a chance to mature. We are demanding that women not be bought, sold and traded like farm animals. We are demanding that women have seats reserved for them at the table where the political decisions are being made. We are demanding more education rights for women and greater access to reproductive and pediatric health care.

Women still do not hold their fair share of seats in the transitional government of Afghanistan, but we take hope in the fact that we have two: the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and the Minister of the Human Rights Commission. Women also have been included in the Constitutional drafting process by the transitional government. And even more women will be part of the Loya Jirga -- the decision-making body that, in October, will approve or reject the final draft of the new Constitution.

Further, once the permanent government takes leadership in Afghanistan and elections are held, 160 women representatives are guaranteed seats in the new government. Others may be elected to non-reserved seats.

Even as we make progress, there are tremendous obstacles that prevent women from taking a stronger place in society. The most serious of these is the threat to women’s security, which make it nearly impossible for them to participate fully in public life. In March, during leadership training sessions held in Kabul, coordinated by the American organization V-Day, Afghan women made it clear that ongoing threats to their physical safety – from husbands, fathers, fathers-in-law, brothers and warlords – made it nearly impossible for them to progress forward. These threats make it difficult for women to cast ballots safely, not even to mention their holding a public office.

The situation in Kabul, where ISAF troops still patrol the streets in great numbers, the situation for women is somewhat better than in outlying areas of Afghanistan. Human Rights Watch a year ago, for example, documented cases of ethnic Pashtun women who had been targeted for sexual violence by three of the three main rival factions in the region. That is just one example and just one area of the country. There are many more examples in other rural locations – and there are many we do not hear about.

We urge the women of Iraq to start now, as international attention is focused on the rebuilding of their country, to make sure they play a role. And we urge them to ensure that security measures are put in place throughout Iraq so they truly can enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that are promised to them. The promises are not real until a system is in place to secure them.

Our hearts are with you. Our hopes are with you, too.

In Solidarity,

The Women of Afghanistan

 
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