Fifty Afghan women leaders will convene in Brussels, December 4-5, to attend an Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy. The women represent a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and hail from all sectors of society, including the fields of education, healthcare, and politics. Three of the participants, Sima Wali, Seddige Balkhi, and Amini Afzali, are now serving as delegates to the meetings in Bonn. Other women leaders from around the globe will also be present at the summit to show their support for the involvement of Afghan women in the reconstruction and peace process in Afghanistan. Several women’s rights organization are hosting the Summit, including the Feminist Majority, the European Women’s Lobby, Equality Now, V-day, and the Center for Strategic Initiatives of Women, which will be held at the European Commission in Brussels in collaboration with the United Nations’ Gender Advisor to the Secretary General and UNIFEM. Judge Navanethem Pillay, South African President of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, will chair the Summit.
A delegation of Afghan women plan to meet with the European Parliamnet, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and the UN Security Council in the weeks immediately following the Summit.
