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

Read the June 2011 recommendations of Afghan women leaders to the United States Government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.

Read the overview of Inclusive Security’s work with Afghan women leaders in June 2011. Watch videos and a slideshow.

In late 2010, NATO heads of state, including President Barack Obama, met in Lisbon, and agreed to transition all responsibility for security to Afghan National Security Forces by the end of 2014. While the transition is intended to roll out gradually based on conditions on the ground, a handful of districts will be turned over to the Afghans this month.

The international transition out of Afghanistan, particularly the withdrawal of significant numbers of US military personnel, is a source of ongoing concern for many Afghans. Delegates reiterated the importance of a measured, gradual withdrawal. They proposed periodic evaluations of transitioned districts that will monitor fluctuations in the level of women’s security and also track socioeconomic indicators of community stability. Both modern and traditional civil society organizations were presented as key allies in the transition process. The delegates emphasized civilian oversight of security force development and post-transition stability, as well as the use of civil society networks for dissemination of information on the transition to the Afghan public.

The delegation of Afghan women leaders met with Tony Blinken, the vice president’s national security adviser; Lt. General Doug Lute, assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor for Afghanistan; and Abigail Friedman, acting senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council, as the Obama administration was in the final stages of deliberating the pace and scope of the withdrawal of US “surge” forces.

Key Recommendations to US Decision Makers on Transition (Read the full set of recommendations on transition.)

#21 – Conduct evaluations of women’s security in transitioned districts in consultation with civil society and women’s groups every six months, beginning now and extending beyond 2014 as the security situation dictates. The evaluations should include data on indicators including attacks on women in public positions, number and rank of women in the Afghan National Security Forces, and indicators of quality and capability, rather than size, of the ANSF.

#23 – Support the creation of an external oversight body that includes civil society organizations to monitor the implementation of vetting and advancement criteria [for former fighters recruited to the Afghan National Security Forces (Afghanistan’s new army, currently being developed with international assistance to train and equip Afghan troops), including women’s representation and advancement as well as investigate and respond to new allegations of abuses by members of security forces against women and children.

Read the June 2011 recommendations of Afghan women leaders to the United States Government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.

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