Five humanitarian aid workers were killed a few months before the first elections in Afghanistan are to take place. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the murders. According to Reuters, three foreign and two Afghan staff members of Doctors Without Borders were killed in the northwestern province of Badghis on Wednesday. The attacks bring the […]
Representatives Raise Concerns About Lack of Security in Afghanistan
At yesterday’s House International Relations Committee hearing on US policy in Afghanistan, several Representatives pressed for more security and reconstruction funding in Afghanistan. Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the committee, fears that “we may be on the verge of losing the battle for a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan due to the lack of […]
Security Is Main Concern in Afghanistan
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Afghanistan on Wednesday, several witnesses asserted that security is the main concern in Afghanistan. Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group stated that efforts in Afghanistan “may fail because the administration has been unwilling to recognize the magnitude of threats which we face and to direct sufficient […]
Afghanistan’s Disarmament in Serious Jeopardy
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan’s disarmament program is in “serious jeopardy.” According to UN News, the top UN official in Afghanistan warned that the disarmament program is in danger because of obstruction by militiamen in the country. According to the spokesperson for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, “the Afghan people […]
Ban on Female Singers Lifted in Afghanistan
After pressure from reformists in Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s party, the ban on women performers on television and radio that was imposed last Friday was lifted. Female entertainers had been declared un-Islamic in the Southeastern province by the deputy provincial governor of Nangarhar. The provincial government ordered state-run television in Jalalabad to stop broadcasting Afghan […]
Female Performers Banned From Television and Radio in Afghanistan
Female performers in an Afghan province have been banned from performing on television and radio. According to Reuters, female entertainers have been declared un-Islamic in the Southeastern province. The provincial government, according to Radio Free Europe, ordered state-run television in Jalalabad to stop broadcasting Afghan women singer’s performances. Earlier this year, for the first time […]
Donor Countries Pledge Insufficient Funds for Afghanistan
The United Nations and the Afghan government recently warned that Afghanistan needs $27 billion over the next seven years to avoid going back to a state of chaos and lawlessness. However, at the Berlin donor conference for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, donor countries pledged only $8.2 billion over the next three years, reports BBC News. In addition, […]
Afghanistan’s Elections Postponed Because of Security Concerns
The first post-Taliban elections in Afghanistan, which were scheduled to take place in June, have been postponed until September. According to BBC News, poor security has delayed voter registration, resulting in only 1.5 million of an estimated 10.5 million people being registered. According to the New York Times, more than 200 people have been killed […]
Female Singer Aired on Afghanistan’s Public Television
For the first time in over a decade, a video with footage of a famous Afghan female singer was broadcast on public television. According to BBC News, the footage is seen as a victory for moderates in Afghanistan. The footage of the female performer came just a few weeks after the approval of Afghanistan’s new […]
Female Delegates Win Clear Definition of Citizen in Afghanistan’s Constitution
Female delegates of Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga won one of their major demands. The final draft of the constitution now states that all citizens of Afghanistan, both men and women, have equal rights under the law. According to IRIN News, a female delegate said, “This is one of the major demands of women and we hope […]
Afghanistan Prepares to Debate Constitution; Women’s Rights Lacking
This week, delegates from all of Afghanistan’s 32 provinces are voting to select the 500 members of the loya jirga (general assembly) that will debate the country’s draft constitution. Despite the fact that there will be separate elections are being held for women, nomads, refugees, and minority groups, who have a limited number of seats […]
UN Aid Worker Slain in Afghanistan; Women Candidates Threatened
A United Nations aid worker was killed on Sunday in Ghazni by two men whom authorities believe are Taliban rebels. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman, Bettina Goislard, who was working for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was the first UN staff to be killed in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban two years ago. […]
UN Adopts Resolution to Expand Peacekeeping in Afghanistan
The United Nations Security Council has given NATO approval to expand its peacekeeping mission beyond Kabul. Last month, the alliance planners had proposed an additional 2,000 to 10,000 troops. However, as Reuters reports, the resolution will have little immediate impact because currently there are only a few countries willing to commit troops needed for the […]
Women’s Rights Groups Ask Congress To Increase Funding For Afghanistan
Leading women’s rights, human rights, and Afghan groups sent a letter to Congress today urging an increase in funding to adequately meet Afghanistan’s reconstruction needs. The letter raises concerns that Afghanistan’s reconstruction and security needs continue to be shortchanged. The groups are asking Congress to re-evaluate the current spending priorities due to the fact that […]
GOP Proposes Only Additional $400 Million for Afghanistan
House Republicans called for a $1.7 billion cut in President Bush’s emergency supplemental request for the reconstruction funding for Iraq and only a $400 million increase in reconstruction aid for Afghanistan. The additional $400 million makes the $1.2 billion for Afghanistan’s reconstruction aid package only a little more than 1 percent of the $87 billion […]
Three More Girls’ Schools Attacked in Afghanistan
Two schools for girls in northern Afghanistan and one in eastern Afghanistan were burned down by suspected Taliban insurgents. This brings the number of girls’ schools attacked in Afghanistan since last fall to over 19. Two tents that were used as schools in the Charar Bolak district in the Balkh province were set fire late […]
Senator Raises Concerns That US Not Spending Enough In Afghanistan
At yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the $87 billion supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) raised concerns about the $20 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction compared to the $800 million for Afghanistan’s. He questioned whether the United States should think about spending more money in Afghanistan than Iraq because Iraq and Afghanistan’s […]
Senator Raises Concerns For Women In Afghanistan
At today’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the $87 billion supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) raised concerns about vulnerable populations in Afghanistan and Iraq, including women. She pointed to a Human Rights Watch Report and threats against girls going to school as examples of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. At […]
Afghanistan: Another School Attacked, Girls’ Teachers Threatened
A coed elementary school was set on fire on Tuesday, and leaflets were distributed saying that girls should not be allowed to go to school. According to Reuters, this brings the total number of schools that have been attacked in the past year to more than 20. The leaflets distributed by the attackers also threatened […]
Afghanistan: US Role Expected to Increase, Girls’ School Burned Down
As the Bush administration continues to consider plans to increase aid and peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan, another girls’ school was burned down last week. The incident at a tented school 30 miles south of Kabul follows the arson of another school for girls located in a neighboring district, according to the Associated Press. Letters were […]
