Afghanistan women: 'Give us a seat at the peace table'

Given the Taliban's history, women say it's critical that they're at the table to make sure concessions aren't made at their expense.

During the past year, the US and its NATO allies have placed increasing emphasis on bringing an end to the war in Afghanistan through negotiations. With the Taliban on the verge of getting a?political office in Qatar, substantive talks now appear closer than ever before.

Skip to next paragraph

Women have taken on an increasingly active role in Afghan society in recent years ? holding elected offices, working outside the house, and sometimes running their own organizations. But many Afghan women see a potential peace deal with the Taliban as representing anything but a ray of hope. Current negotiation efforts have mostly excluded women, and without a voice at the table many women worry how well the Afghan government can protect women?s rights if the Taliban is reincorporated into the political system.?

As the US and NATO continue to work toward talks, a number of activists argue that if the West was serious about promoting women?s rights here, they?d help ensure women a seat at the peace negotiation table.

?The sad part is that the international community?s actions do not reflect what they say. It talks about women?s rights, but then they don?t include them [in peace talks]. Women?s involvement should be one of the conditions,? says Sima Samar, chairperson for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. ?The problem here is that it?s not only the Afghans, it?s the international community that also sees that women are not capable or useful in the negotiations.?

Of the nearly 70-member Afghan High Peace Council created to liaise with the Taliban and other insurgent groups, only nine are women. Given the Taliban's history with women's rights, women here say their inclusion is the peace process is critical to ensure history does not repeat itself or concessions are not made at their expense.?

Aside from women's involvement, just who negotiates with the Taliban has consistently been an issue. When the High Peace Council was formed, many people criticized it for consisting almost exclusively of Taliban adversaries who hold little clout with the group. So far it?has been largely sidelined, especially after its chairman, Burhanuddin Rabbani was?assassinated in September.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/h6fySID-exI/Afghanistan-women-Give-us-a-seat-at-the-peace-table

jeff bezos slither slither chattanooga joey lawrence joey lawrence loma prieta