Category: Afghanistan

Mahboba Hoqooqmal was appointed as the Minister of Women Affairs in Afghanistan today. The appointment of Hoqooqmal, former head of law at Kabul University, vice-chair of the loya jirga commission, and a women’s rights advocate, comes in the wake of threats to outgoing Minister Dr. Sima Samar and concerns that the Ministry might be eliminated […]

Conditions in Afghanistan are described by international aid workers as dangerous and unstable. Delegates returning home from last week’s loya jirga have reported threats and intimidation especially to women. In light of these circumstances, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) restated a continued plea last night to the Bush administration and Congress for expanded US peacekeeping presence […]

Reports of violence in northern Afghanistan, including the gang rape of a female international aid worker, have raised further concerns about security in the war-torn nation with several international groups threatening to leave the country. “Many aid workers, noting the climate of fear and insecurity in the region, are considering reducing or discontinuing there work […]

In secret ballot elections held late Thursday, Afghanistan’s national assemblyÑthe loya jirgaÑselected current interim leader Hamid Karzai as the next head of state, serving until the 2004 elections. Karzai emerged with 1,295 of the more than 1,500 votes cast. Female physician Massouda Jalal finished as runner-up with 171 votes, despite efforts by Defense Minister Marshal […]

A multi-million dollar funding gap for the United Nations World Food Program’s work in Afghanistan has resulted in cutbacks on relief projects throughout the country. These cutbacks have forced families to take on debt, reduce their dietary intake and sell their assets and livestock, according to Nigel Fisher, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for […]

United Nations Envoy for Recovery, Relief, and Reconstruction Nigel Fisher revealed that the international community has provided “insufficient” aid to Afghanistan and noted that the country is still undergoing an “immediate humanitarian crisis,” evidenced by widespread hunger. According to the World Food Program (WFP), the agency needs more than $585 million to deliver aid to […]

In a preliminary draft report commissioned by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Tufts University famine expert Sue Lautze characterized the situation in Afghanistan Ð exacerbated by a three-year drought Ð as “still in acute disaster phase” and urged continued diligence in international emergency assistance. Based on 1,100 interviews with Afghan households, Lautz’s report […]

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV) joined Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal, NOW President Kim Gandy, National Council of Women’s Organizations Executive Director Martha Burk, Equality Now President Jessica Neuwirth, V-Day Founder Eve Ensler, Gloria Steinem, and Zieba Shorish-Shamley of the Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan in calling on […]

UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer this week identified lack of security as the major threat to women in Afghanistan. Factional fighting and only a limited International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) could prevent economic development, the successful establishment of democracy, and the return of women’s rights. Heyzer urged the international community to increase efforts to restore […]

Speaking yesterday at the Virginia Military Institute, President Bush called for the establishment of a “Marshall Plan,” like the one put into place for Europe and Japan after World War II, for Afghanistan to help ensure “true peace” in the war-torn country. Bush told cadets, “Peace will be achieved by helping Afghanistan develop its own […]

In an editorial appearing in today’s Washington Post, the independent newspaper called on President Bush to rethink his refusal to expand the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond Kabul and suggested that the President increase the amount of peace troops in the country. According to the Post, refusing to expand the ISAF would put Afghanistan […]

Anti-women’s rights, handwritten pamphlets have been found in Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold. According to a traveler quoted by Reuters, the pamphlets read, “Stop sending your women to offices and daughters to schools. It spreads indecency and vulgarity.” The pamphlet then issues the warning, “Stand ready for the consequences if you do not heed the […]

Afghan Interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai and United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi called on the international community yesterday to release aid money pledged for Afghanistan’s reconstruction in January in order to fund a national security force in the country. “[T]he establishment of a well-trained, properly equipped national security force is an absolute […]

Delivering the keynote address at the National Council of Women’s Organizations’ Women’s Equality Summit and Action Day, Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal called for a national women’s campaign in support of peace troop expansion and more U.S. resources for Afghanistan’s reconstruction. “Peace and security must be established across Afghanistan to enable the restoration of women’s […]

The United Nations’ Special Representative on human rights in Afghanistan, Kamel Hossain, called for an immediate expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan to help ensure the establishment of stability and democratic institutions. Hossain, who has made several trips to Afghanistan, cautioned that, “Security lapses could jeopardize the whole transition process” and […]

In spite of pleas from both the United Nations and the Afghan Administration for an expansion of the 4,800-member International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the United States and France made their opposition official by telling the UN Security Council that the ISAF would not be expanded. U.S. representative James Cunningham and French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte […]

Despite pleas from Afghanistan’s interim government and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as thousands of email messages from women’s groups, the Bush Administration appears to have made a decision not to allow an increase in the size of the 4500-member international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, nor an expansion of that force beyond the […]

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women began its 46th session today at the UN headquarters in New York. During the two-week long session, the Commission will discuss empowering women worldwide. Included in this discussion will be the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan and measures to help ensure the eradication of […]

Tune in tonight at 10pm (EST) as Diane Sawyer of ABC’s Primetime Live looks at life for Afghan women after the Taliban. In 1996, journalist Diane Sawyer visited Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital of Kabul. She spoke with five women who were fearful for their lives and living in […]

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan, announced yesterday that the U.S. is considering options for expanding the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, expressing concern over the continuing conflict between several rival factions in Afghanistan. Possible scenarios include expanding the small 4, 500 member international peacekeeping force currently responsible for the entire country to 25,000 […]