The United Nations’ (UN) World Food Program (WFP) stated Sunday that over the next year, roughly four million Afghans will suffer from the country’s ongoing food shortage, according to Reuters. With a harsh winter expected to begin by mid-November, food delivery will be thwarted to more than one-fourth of those individuals, who reside in rural […]
Eighth Attack on Girls’ School in Afghanistan
A school for girls in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was recently hit by an explosion that injured one teacher, the Associated Press reports. This most recent bombing marks the eighth in a series of known attacks against schools for girls in Afghanistan. Hand-written pamphlets were distributed in Kandahar, the former Taliban stronghold, in April warning of violence […]
Gunmen Close Girls’ School in Afghanistan
In the seventh incident in a series of attacks on girls’ schools in Afghanistan, gunmen recently forced a school in the Wardak province that served 1,300 girls to close. The government-run newspaper, the Arman-e-Millie Daily, reported that the gunmen threatened students at the school southwest of the Afghan capitol, Kabul, according to Reuters. This attack […]
Two Girls’ Schools Burned Down in Afghanistan
Following the distribution of pamphlets around mosques near the capital of Sar-i-Pul province in Afghanistan warning women against removing their burqas, two girls’ schools were burned down recently, including their supply of books and blackboards. The pamphlets that were distributed are reminiscent of similar leaflets handed out in Kandahar in April, which warned of violence […]
State Department Issues Report Questioning Expansion of Peacekeeping Troops in Afghanistan
The US State Department issued a new report on Afghanistan to Congress recently questioning the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond the capital of Kabul. The report suggests that establishing security in outlying areas will be up to the Afghan government. “Providing security to the rural hinterlands in Afghanistan would be almost […]
Bush Pledges Funds To Build 600-Mile Road in Afghanistan
In a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday at the United Nations, President Bush announced a pledge of $180 million in funds from the US, Japan and Saudi Arabia to build a 600-mile road connecting Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. The road is one of several major reconstruction projects needed to rebuild Afghanistan after 23 […]
Presidential Assassination Attempt And Car Bomb Explosion Mark Day of Violence in Afghanistan
In what is being called the most violent day in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted, a car bomb explosion in Kabul today that killed at least 15 was followed by an assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai in Kandahar in which three were killed and the governor of Kandahar was injured. “This assassination attempt […]
Bush Admin. May Support International Peace Troop Expansion in Afghanistan
In a significant policy shift, the Bush administration indicated that it may now support expansion of international peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported today. One senior official described this change as a “mid course correction,” necessary because of “lingering difficulties in rebuilding the country and establishing law and order in a nation […]
Reconstruction in Afghanistan on Shaky Footing
Promises of reconstruction and humanitarian aid for Afghanistan have so far fallen short of the $1.8 billion pledged for this year by the international community at the Tokyo meeting in January. The newly established government, led by President Hamid Karzai, has only received approximately $600 million, and most of that funding has been for emergency […]
Bush Withdraws Funds for AfghanistanÕs Reconstruction
President Bush recently rejected $5.1 billion in Emergency Supplemental Appropriation funds approved by Congress, including $174 million for reconstruction and refugee assistance in Afghanistan, according to Interaction and Care organizations. Among the funding eliminated by this veto is $2.5 million for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which is slated to build women’s centers in each […]
Reproductive Health Clinic Opens in Afghanistan
A clinic dedicated to providing reproductive health services to Afghan women opened its doors in Kabul this past weekend – one of the first to provide comprehensive services since the repressive Taliban regime took over in 1996. Marie Stopes International (MSI), a British-based global reproductive and women’s health partnership, opened the clinic that will provide […]
Bush Administration Criticized for Policy in Afghanistan
Policy experts and Bush administration officials have conceded privately that President Bush’s policy in Afghanistan is “high on the rhetoric of commitment and low on the level of engagement,” the Washington Post reported today. This policy includes a continued refusal to expand the role of international peacekeeping forces outside Kabul as well as limited US […]
High-level Power Struggle Intensifies in Afghanistan
A power struggle between Afghanistan’s newly elected president and the nation’s defense minister has raised concerns that the situation is growing increasingly unstable for the newly created national government. For the past six months, Hamid Karzai, the US-backed president, did little to challenge Mohammed Fahim, the defense minister who served as a military leader for […]
Afghanistan: School Funding Needed as Number of Students Increases
The number of students enrolled in Afghanistan’s schools has increased dramatically over the last eight months, according to an ongoing survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) back-to-school program. With a campaign target of 1.78 million child enrollees nationwide, the survey Ñ which started in May and will end in September Ñ shows that […]
Afghanistan: Taliban Wives Seek Divorce
Since the Taliban’s fall last November, Afghan women have flooded Kabul’s 16 district courts seeking divorces, according to a report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). As many as 50 women a day Ñ most forced into marriage with Taliban men Ñsubmit divorce requests despite facing possible detainment, according to Mohammad Usman, chair […]
UN Halts Return of Refugees to Afghanistan
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has suspended the return of refugees to Afghanistan’s central and northern regions because of deteriorating security as a result of rival warlords. The Feminist Majority, UN, other humanitarian aid organizations and the new Afghan government have issued repeated pleas to the US government to support expansion of […]
Momentum Building for Expansion of Peacekeeping Troops in Afghanistan
With both Democratic and Republican Senate leaders calling upon the Bush administration to support expansion of peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan, the Feminist Majority has stepped up an emergency call-in and e-mail campaign to provide the security necessary to promote women’s rights, democracy and reconstruction. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing yesterday, both Democratic and […]
Women’s Affairs Minister Appointed in Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai officially appointed Habiba Sorabi as minister for women’s affairs today, replacing Dr. Sima Samar who will head the country’s human rights commission. Sorabi is a pharmacist and women’s rights activist, who returned to Afghanistan after she fled to Pakistan following the Taliban takeover. Sorabi is the third woman to be appointed […]
Sens. Boxer and Biden Press for Peacekeeping Troops in Afghanistan
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Joseph Biden (D-DE) pushed for the expansion of peace troops in Afghanistan today in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the matter. Testifying before the committee, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage did not commit US support of an expansion of the […]
Senate Committee to Address Expansion of Peacekeeping Troops in Afghanistan
In the wake of violence and intimidation against human rights advocates in Afghanistan, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing at 10:45 a.m. tomorrow to address the issue of expansion of peace troops in Afghanistan. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz will testify and respond to […]
