Supporting Afghan Women Peace Builders at a Critical Time

Read the recommendations developed by women peacebuilders in Kabul in May 2010 in response to the Afghan Peace and Reconciliation Program.

Read the commentary written by Inclusive Security Director Carla Koppell on "Afghanistan's Most Valuable Resource" published by Reuters AlertNet July 16, 2010. 


Supporting Afghan Women Peace Builders Preparing to Participate in the National Consultative Peace Jirga
Inclusive Security traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, in May 2010 to continue supporting women peace builders as they prepared for the National Consultative Peace Jirga (NCPJ), held June 2–4. The jirga brought together leaders from around the country to discuss peace in general and reintegration strategies in particular, including negotiations with the Taliban.

In collaboration with the Afghan Women’s Network, the UN Development Fund for Women, and the US Institute for Peace, the one-day consultation convened more than 35 women leaders representing various Afghan-led civil society organizations.

The consultation sought to prepare women to participate effectively in the jirga. Because access to information about governance processes is a perennial challenge to Afghan civil society, sessions included review and discussion of the jirga’s structure and process, about which the women leaders had previously heard little. Working groups reviewed the Afghan Peace and Reconciliation Program, the government of Afghanistan’s draft reintegration policy that was to be a key point of deliberation at the jirga. The women peace builders drafted concrete recommendations in response to the APRP that were subsequently disseminated at the jirga. The recommendations presented suggestions for demobilization and reintegration of armed groups, negotiations, grievance resolution and traditional justice, and the role of communities in reconciliation and reintegration.

Participants at the consultation also developed strategies for networking with the larger group of women slated to be jirga delegates. Afghan women leaders had already advocated for increasing their numbers at the jirga from a distressingly low 20 (out of about 1,600 provincial, religious, tribal, and other leaders) to more than 400. This meant that jirga participants would have opportunities to build relationships with a wide range of women from all Afghan provinces and even from refugee camps across the border in Pakistan. Security risks, geographic and technological barriers to easy communication, and cultural norms all generally make it difficult for Afghan women to connect.

Inclusive Security partnered with a PBS film crew to document the workshop, as well as the jirga itself. A show on women’s activities during the consultation and the jirga will air sometime in spring 2011.

Women at the National Consultative Peace Jirga
During the jirga in early June, women leaders participated in each of the 28 working groups and won nominations to act as leaders and deputy leaders of some of them. Women presented the final recommendations in the plenary and had prepared in the consultation to offer technical advice on next steps, such as community-based reintegration plans, that the jirga did not get far enough to address. Najia Zewari, a woman and a women’s rights expert, served as deputy chairwoman of the entire jirga.

While the most tangible outcomes of the jirga do not focus on the role and rights of women, what occurred inside the jirga was critical. It showed that attitudes are changing in Afghanistan more quickly than many outsiders believe - and more often than not it is a result of the efforts of Afghan women themselves. That's why the jirga can be seen as a success for women's rights - it signaled a positive trend for the future of inclusive governance in Afghanistan. That matters because research shows that when women play a part in making decisions about peace and security, those decisions are more likely to produce sustainable peace. The engagement of women also broadens participation in the wider democratic process.

Advocacy in Washington, DC
Supported by the Open Society Institute, two prominent Afghan women civil society activists, Samira Hamidi, executive director of the Afghan Women's Network, and Najla Ayubi, founder of the Kabul-based Organization of Strategic Studies and Research, traveled to Washington, DC  from May 12-17 to highlight women's continuing and potential contributions to Afghanistan's reintegration and reconciliation processes. Inclusive Security arranged meetings for the leaders and high-level officials from the US Department of State and Congress, among others. Inclusive Security also organized a public event—“In the Midst of Milestones: Perspectives from Afghan Women Leaders”—featuring the two women in collaboration with the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.

For more information on Inclusive Security’s work with Afghan women peace builders, please contact Michelle Barsa.