Elevating the Voices of Afghan Women at a Critical Time (June 2011)
Above: Hasina Safi of Afghanistan discusses the parallel roles of women and men in Afghanistan's peace process.
Read Afghan women leaders' June 2011 recommendations to the US government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.
Watch PBS NewsHour coverage. Watch the slideshow. Watch additional videos of the delegation.
In June 2011, with the peace process under way and the withdrawal of US troops and security transition beginning, The Institute for Inclusive Security partnered with the Afghan Women’s Network to bring 11 Afghan women leaders to Washington, DC for direct exchanges with US decision makers at a truly pivotal moment for Afghanistan's future. The delegation of women leaders included civil society representatives from Kabul and conflict-affected provinces, a champion of inclusive security in the Wolesi Jirga, a gender advisor to the High Peace Council, an officer from the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and a leading journalist.
Watch video interviews with delegates Rangina Hamidi and Hasina Safi about the importance of including Afghan women in peace and security decisions.
Building on women’s consultations held in Kabul, the delegation developed a comprehensive set of recommendations to US decision makers centered on enhancing women’s inclusion in the reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes, as well as the upcoming Bonn II Conference tentatively scheduled for December.
Despite constant insecurity and a more recent conservative backlash, Afghan women have consistently mobilized and made vital contributions to reconstruction, democracy, and security. With all the past decade's gains on the line, it should come as no surprise that Afghan women leaders are demanding a seat at the table across from Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s longtime leader, if and when formal peace talks ensue.
While important, it’s not enough to have just a few women leaders involved in just high-level negotiations. Afghan women are keen to see a more inclusive reconciliation process that would include provincial-, regional- and national-level consultations to determine Afghans’ perspectives and priorities. Rather than relying on government alone to lead, the delegation of Afghan women leaders suggested looking to civil society’s vast community networks to reach as many Afghans as possible.
Many Afghans share an ongoing concern about the US transition out of their country. Delegates highlighted the importance of a measured, gradual withdrawal. They proposed periodic monitoring of transitioned districts to evaluate changes in the level of women’s security and changes in socioeconomic indicators of community stability. Both modern and traditional civil society organizations were presented as key allies for the transition. The delegates emphasized the need for civilian oversight of security force development and post-transition stability, as well as the use of civil society networks for disseminating information on the transition to the Afghan public.
The delegation of Afghan women leaders met with some of the most influential voices in Washington, DC (see full list at the end of this article).
Ambassador Marc Grossman, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the US Department of State, shared the women’s concerns on the reconciliation process. Tony Blinken, the vice president’s national security advisor, and Lt. General Doug Lute, thoughtfully considered the women’s recommendations on gradual transition of US troops and the associated security sector reform. Their meeting was particularly timely, coming a week before US President Barack Obama’s troop withdrawal announcement on June 23, 2011. At a Pentagon meeting with Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy, the delegates spoke of US-supported local militias and offered recommendations for how to cope simultaneously with the widening security vacuum and reintegration of ex-combatants.
Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hosted the delegation for a roundtable discussion in the US Capitol. Leader Pelosi graciously invited Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chair of the State, Foreign Ops, and Related Programs Subcommittee; Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), the ranking member on the same subcommittee; and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The congressional leaders were most interested in the women’s perspectives on reconciling with the Taliban and expressed interest in ensuring women’s inclusion at the upcoming Bonn Conference.
After meeting with the delegation, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a longtime supporter of Afghan women, pledged to introduce legislation that would make the provision of US reconstruction funds conditional on whether or not women have “many seats” at the table in potential negotiations with the Taliban. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing the following week, Sen. Boxer encouraged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to press for women’s inclusion in the peace process.
Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Donna Edwards (D-MD), co-chairs of the Women’s Caucus’s new Afghan Women’s Task Force, hosted a launch event in the Capitol featuring the delegation of Afghan women leaders. In a statement released after the launch event, the task force co-chairs stressed the importance of involving women in peace negotiations and decisionmaking, and the confidence that if it happened, women would be able to advocate for and defend their own rights as well as make better decisions for the sustainable peace in their country.
This delegation's success builds on builds on a decade of work by Inclusive Security in Brussels, Dubai, Kabul, London and Washington with Afghan women leaders but signals the highest level yet of interest by the US government in locally driven solutions to ensure that gains in women’s rights and political participation are protected, sustained, and expanded in the years to come.
Media coverage of this week of exceptional and frank exchange of ideas included PBS NewsHour, Foreign Policy, Washington Times, NPR’s Tell Me More, Voice of America, and The Daily Beast. Read more about how Inclusive Security elevated the voices of the delegation through media.
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers about reintegration in Afghanistan.
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers about transition in Afghanistan.
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers for improving reconciliation in Afghanistan.
For more information about Inclusive Security’s work in Afghanistan, please contact Michelle Barsa.
The delegation of Afghan women leaders met with the following US decision makers:
US Department of Defense
- Michèle Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy
- David Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia
- Col. Chris Kolenda, military special advisor to the under secretary of defense for policy and senior director for counterinsurgency
- Major General Sam Angelella, vice director of strategic plans and policy (J5), Joint Staff
US Department of State
- Ambassador Marc Grossman, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Vikram Singh, deputy to the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Rina Amiri, senior advisor on Afghanistan
- Ambassador Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues
The White House
- Tony Blinken, national security advisor, Office of the Vice President
- Lt. General Doug Lute, assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor for Afghanistan, National Security Staff
- Tina Tchen, assistant to the President and chief of staff to the First Lady and executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls
- Abigail Friedman, acting senior director for Afghanistan, National Security Staff
- Rob Berschinski, director for security and human rights policy, National Security Staff
- Karen Richardson, associate director, Office of Public Engagement
US Agency for International Development
US House of Representatives
- Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
- Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), ranking member, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chair, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Ops, and Related Programs of the House Committee on Appropriations
- Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), ranking member, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Ops, and Related Programs of the House Committee on Appropriations
- Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), ranking member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), co-chair, Afghan Women’s Task Force, Women’s Caucus
- Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), co-chair, Afghan Women’s Task Force, Women’s Caucus
- Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), House Armed Services Committee
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
US Senate
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), ranking member, Subcommittee on Personnel of the Senate Armed Services Committee
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senate Armed Services Committee
- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair, Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Nongovernmental Organizations
- Judy Van Rest, executive vice president, International Republican Institute
- Susan Markham, director, Women’s Political Participation, National Democratic Institute
- Andrew Wilder, director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs, US Institute of Peace
- Kathleen Kuehnast - director, Gender and Peacebuilding Center, US Institute of Peace
- Hamish Nixon - project coordinator, Peace Reasearch Institute of Oslo/USIP
- Michelle Bekkering, director, Women's Democracy Network, International Republican Institute
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers about reintegration in Afghanistan.
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers about transition in Afghanistan.
Read more about recommendations to US decision makers for improving reconciliation in Afghanistan.
For more information about Inclusive Security's work in Afghanistan, please contact Michelle Barsa.