Recommendations for Improving Reconciliation in Afghanistan by Including Women (June 2011)

Read the June 2011 recommendations of Afghan women leaders to the US government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.

Read the overview of Inclusive Security’s work with Afghan women leaders in June. Watch videos and a slideshow.

At an international donor conference in London in 2010, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the launch of the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Plan. This plan would attempt to begin winding down the conflict by providing incentives to low-level insurgents to lay down their arms and reintegrate into their communities, so long as they renounced violence and accepted the Afghan constitution. As the fighters were removed from the battlefield, a 70-member High Peace Council would lead exploratory peace talks with Taliban leaders.

Despite constant insecurity over the last decade and a more recent conservative backlash, Afghan women have consistently mobilized and made vital contributions to reconstruction, democracy, and security. With all the gains of the past decade 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.

Only 9 members of the 70-member High Peace Council are women. While increasing women’s representation is 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 participatory and inclusive reconciliation process move ahead at all levels to determine Afghans’ perspectives and priorities regarding the peace process. Rather than having a solely government-led process, the delegation of Afghan women leaders suggested relying on civil society’s vast community networks to reach as many Afghans as possible.

Key Recommendations to US decision makers on reconciliation (Read the full set of recommendations on reconciliation)

#6 – Urge the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to implement a more participatory and inclusive reconciliation process. Support GIRoA with funds to undertake a national consultation and facilitate connections to international conflict resolution experts who can assist in designing the process.

#8 – Include advancement of women’s participation in the peace process among the accountability criteria for the $50 million the US has committed to support the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program.

Read the June 2011 recommendations of Afghan women leaders to the US government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.

For more information about Inclusive Security’s work on reconciliation in Afghanistan, or Afghanistan more generally, please contact Michelle Barsa.