The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released their annual report on violence against women in Afghanistan yesterday, revealing mixed results of the country’s Elimination of Violence against Women Law. “A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on […]
US and Afghanistan Agree on Language for Bilateral Security Agreement
The United States and Afghanistan have agreed on the final language of a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that will help determine the role of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan post-2014. The agreement is now being considered by the Loya Jirga, a council composed of 2500 members including Afghan political, community, business, youth and non-profit organization […]
US Leaders Speak Out on Role of Women in Afghanistan’s Transition
Secretary of State John Kerry, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former First Lady Laura Bush called for increased support for Afghan women during the “Advancing Afghan Women: Promoting Peace and Progress in Afghanistan” symposium held in Washington, DC last week. The US leaders asserted that women must be a strong part of Afghanistan’s […]
Registration to Run in Afghanistan Elections Closed This Week
Registration wrapped up on October 6 for both the Afghanistan presidential and provincial council elections. Twenty-seven candidates have registered for the presidential race, and 2,327 candidates registered to run for the provincial council, including 240 women. Every one of the country’s 34 provinces has one or more women candidates running in that election. Of the […]
Afghanistan Holds First Social Media Summit
Afghanistan held its first social media summit this week in Kabul, the first in a three-part project. The summit – entitled “Paiwand,” meaning “connection” in Dari – was organized by local digital media agency Impassion Afghanistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Themed “Social Media for Social Good,” the summit brought together over 200 […]
New Campaign Encourages Women to Participate in Afghanistan’s Next Election
A new campaign in Afghanistan urges women to vote – specifically, for candidates that support their rights and equality.
UN Agencies Condemn Violence Against Women in Afghanistan
UN Women, the United Nations agency committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment, condemned the recent intimidation and targeted killings of Afghan women government officials. Several prominent women have been intimidated, abducted, and killed – including Afghanistan’s most senior female police officer, Lieutenant Negar, who died on Monday after being shot by an unidentified gunman […]
Women Commit Majority of Suicides in Afghanistan
95 percent of all suicides in Afghanistan are committed by women and girls. According to officials at the Ministry of Public Health yesterday at World Suicide Prevention Day in Kabul, more than 2,500 Afghan women have already committed suicide in 2013. Experts cited extreme levels of violence against women and forced marriage between young girls […]
Afghanistan Leaders Discuss Need for More Women Judges
At a four-day conference at the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul last week, over 180 female judges affiliated with the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA) and other leaders discussed strategies for improving the number of Afghanistan’s female judges and ensuring justice to those who come to the courts. Women now make up 10 percent of […]
Supreme Court Reversed Woman’s Torture Case in Afghanistan
A case of three Afghans who were jailed for torturing a girl has been reversed by the Afghan Supreme Court. Sahar Gul was sold for $5,000 to a 30 years old man New York Times said . She was forced to marry in 2011 in her 13 or 14 years of age. As a result, […]
Taliban Agrees to US, Afghan Peace Talks; Afghanistan Backs Out
A day after the Taliban announced that it will agree to peace talks with the United States and Afghanistan, the Afghan government has announced it will not participate until Afghanistan plays a larger lead role. Senior US officials confirmed that two key conditions of the negotiations would be that the Taliban breaks ties with al-Qaeda […]
Women’s Rights Advocate Slain in Afghanistan
Najia Seddiqi, the head of women’s affairs for Laghman province and known women’s rights activist, was murdered yesterday on her way to her office. She was getting into a rickshaw when two gunmen on a motorbike shot her. She was traveling with no bodyguards despite multiple requests for protection from authorities, according to her family. […]
Donor Nations Pledge $16 Million in Aid to Afghanistan
International donors, including the US and Japan, pledged $16 million in development aid to Afghanistan at the Tokyo Conference yesterday. Four million dollars will be provided annually through 2015. By providing this assistance, the international community expressed its commitment to assist with the stabilization of Afghanistan as international troops are withdrawn from the country. In […]
Open Letter to Obama, Karzai Urges Women’s Inclusion in Afghanistan Talks
Amnesty International issued an open letter to President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai at their “Shadow Summit” Saturday urging both leaders to safeguard women’s rights. Forty-six people signed the open letter, including Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal and Ms. magazine founder Gloria Steinem. Other signatories include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; […]
Concerns Arise over Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan
Politicians, economists and activists gathered at the Bonn Conference in early December expressed concerns regarding the impact of the withdrawal of th US on maternal mortality. Sarah Pickworth, a public health specialist in Afghanistan stated, “The greatest risk at present is through aid levels dropping off precipitously. Without sufficient funding, there is likely to be […]
Maternal Mortality Decreases in Afghanistan
The Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS) 2010, sponsored by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the US Government, and the British Department for International Development, revealed that over the past five years, maternal and infant mortality has declined dramatically in Afghanistan. According to the research, there are “500 deaths per 100,000 live births,” as compared to 2005 […]
World Leaders Meet in Afghanistan
World leaders from over 70 countries met in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday for an International Conference on Afghanistan,with the goal of helping the war-torn country restore itself economically, socially and politically. Among the attendees were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Secretary Clinton spoke […]
Afghan War Crimes Victims Lobby Against the Afghanistan Peace Jirga
A coalition of Afghan war crimes victims is lobbying against the Afghanistan Peace Jirga and the Afghanistan government’s effort to begin a reconciliation process with the Taliban and other insurgents. The Afghanistan Peace Jirga, which took place early last week, brought together approximately 1,600 delegates from around Afghanistan to discuss building peace and the motives […]
Global Maternal Mortality Drops, Afghanistan Has Highest Rate
The average rate at which mothers die during childbirth has dropped globally by approximately 40 percent since 1980, according to a study recently released by The Lancet, a European medical journal. Afghanistan ranked highest, as reported by a research team led by Christopher J.L. Murray at the University of Washington, with 1,575 maternal deaths for […]
Boxer Pushes for Focus on Women at Upcoming Afghanistan Conference
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama Friday urging a stronger focus on Afghan women and girls at an international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London this week. In her letter, Boxer indicated deep concern that women are “not being viewed as an essential element” in the US’s Afghanistan […]
