International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a good opportunity for free women and men to continue alongside each other the struggle for their rights and justice.Women’s Day has for years, and in particular in the past eight years, been celebrated through symbolic ceremonies international Afghanistan. Unfortunately, rather than being used as a pretext to examine the conditions of women and offering solutions to improve their lives, the real value of 8th March has been neglected in our country.Despite efforts of women’s rights activists, there is a will to restrict women’s activities and set up hurdles ahead of their political participation and reduce their already weak role in of decision and policy making areas.Clearly, one of the most important reasons for backwardness of women is the low level of their political participation and their absence from the decision and policy making areas. The government’s recent decisions are also likely to further restrict their participation and aggravate their conditions.Thus, to prevent the country from sliding into the aforesaid situation, the Women’s 50% Campaign draws the attention of the government officials to its most important demands under the present circumstances:

1. Transition from the war conditions and crises to achieve a society based on humanitarian and just conditions would require fully fledged efforts to reach peace, justice and the adherence of the government and its supporters to National Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice and recognition of the women’s role in the process. Otherwise, women will not be involved in pace talks and power sharing. Therefore, the first demand of the 50% Campaign to the government is that it should endeavour toward an enduring and just peace through putting an end to belligerent solutions and non-transparent negotiations with the perpetrators of war, oppression and atrocities. We fear that eight years of efforts for peace and democracy may be sacrificed for baseless promises of security and peace in secret negotiations.

2. The extent of political rights is the criteria for the true conditions of women in every society. The 50% Campaign insists on removing the obstacles and challenges facing women on their path to achieve their political rights. It urges the government to amend the Elections Law so that it will not decrease the number of women’s seats in parliament, in particular in large cities, and will guarantee their maximum presence in the National Assembly.

List of organisations supporting the 50% Campaign:

National Union of Women of Afghanistan, Political Participation Committee of Women of Afghanistan, Armanshahr Foundation, Human Rights Education Centre for Women, Civil Society Assembly of Afghanistan, Solidarity for Justice Institute, Women’s World periodical, daily 8 Sobh, Today’s Afghan Woman Institute, Social-Cultural Studies Centre, Salam Institute, Kabul Young People’s Centre, Institute for Support of Destitute Women of Afghanistan, Nawa Institute, Peace Outlet for Women of Afghanistan, Afghan Women toward Development, Sorush Mellat periodical.