Afghanistan

In April 2002, Equality Now issued Women’s Action Update 21.2, Afghanistan: Peace, Security and the Role of Women, which called for the urgent expansion of international peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan in order to provide security for Afghan women. This Women’s Action updated an earlier action from October 2001 (Women’s Action 21.1), entitled Afghanistan: Terrorism, The Taliban and The Role of Women in Peace and Security, which called for appropriate intervention from the United Nations, in accordance with international law, to address the crisis and calling for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security. Resolution 1325 formally recognizes the critical role of women in the resolution of conflict.

To facilitate the implementation of Resolution 1325, and in support of and solidarity with the women of Afghanistan, Equality Now organized a coalition of women’s organizations, which, in collaboration with the Gender Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNIFEM, convened the Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy. Held December 4 and 5, 2001 in Brussels at the European Commission, the Summit provided a unique forum for forty Afghan women leaders from all parts of the world including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, the United States, Canada and Europe, to discuss their involvement in decision-making over the future of their country. The convening coalition of organizations included V-Day, The European Women’s Lobby, the Centre for the Strategic Initiatives of Women, and The Feminist Majority.

The Afghan Women’s Summit adopted The Brussels Proclamation, an historic expression of the long held dreams and aspirations of Afghan women, together with a list of concrete demands for immediate implementation relating to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Women leaders from around the world joined the Afghan women in Brussels in solidarity, and activists from 16 countries met in a parallel session during the Summit to formulate support strategies for the women of Afghanistan, adopting a Declaration of Solidarity.

Following the Summit, Equality Now and the other conveners organized a political and media tour for six delegates from the Summit to deliver their message to officials from the European Union, the United States and the United Nations, including the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Follow-up activities are continuing, and in March 2002 Equality Now participated in a mission to Afghanistan organized by V-Day, for a first-hand update on the situation there and a strategy discussion with women’s groups and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

General strategic goals of Equality Now’s campaign on Afghanistan include security through international peacekeeping forces (Women's Action 21.2), provision of immediate aid for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the inclusion of women in the process of reconstruction, and the restoration of women’s rights. Equality Now is also working with women lawyers in Afghanistan to help them establish the Afghan Women Lawyers and Professionals Association (AWLPA), which has among its goals to participate in the construction of a legal framework for the country that incorporates fundamental human rights for women. AWLPA produces a newsletter, Woman and Law (English translation), containing articles on women’s rights, the transitional government, legal advice and interviews with government officials, which Equality Now has had translated into English.

In December 2004, Equality Now issued Women's Action Update 21.3, which calls for the removal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, Fazul Hadi Shinwari, for his demonstrated lack of commitment to the right to sex equality, which is set forth in the new Constitution. The Women's Action Update calls on the Afghan president to appoint a new Chief Justice and ensure the appointment of Supreme Court judges who will uphold all the provisions of Afghanistan's Constitution, including its provision on equality between men and women.

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