AFGHAN WOMEN’S DECLARATION
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN IN BONN
05 December 2011
PREAMBLE
1. On 23rd November 2011, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) consulted 500 women
leaders representing 500,000 women from more than 20 provinces of Afghanistan. Their
recommendations and perspectives on issues of national and international interest are
incorporated in this Declaration. This Consultation was the culmination of AWN’s year-
long mobilization and advocacy campaign for women’s inclusion during the Bonn
process and beyond.
2. The Afghan women who participated in this consultation reaffirmed their support for the
international community’s long term engagement in Afghanistan, and emphasized that
Afghan women’s achievements of the past 10 years should be promoted and
strengthened through the commitments of Afghan government and the international
community at the Bonn Conference.
3. Afghan women are not where we were in 2001. Over the past ten years, we have
struggled, fought and earned our achievements with the support of the Afghan
government and its international allies. From a position of virtual oblivion in 2001, over
4 million young girls are attending schools and higher education institutes today.
Seventeen percent of civil servants across the country are women, who actively
contribute to national reconstruction and economic development. The women who hold
over 25% of seats in parliament daily assert the need for accountability and transparency
mechanisms in a reformed governance structure and hundreds of women organizations
are striving to end violence and discrimination against women and girls in the most
remote valleys of the country1.
4. Afghan women affirm that our future can and must evolve in a different Afghanistan
from the past, in which our daughters and their daughters will be able to actively engage
in peace building and nation building in an equitable environment. This optimism,
expressed by most of the women during this consultation and particularly from South
and South Western regions, is the source of our strength, perseverance, and pride. This
declaration is our testament to that belief.
5. The women who participated in the consultation process stated their appreciation for
the leadership and mobilization of women activists and groups under the Afghan
Women’s Network (AWN). They expressed their strong support for the
recommendations outlined in the Afghan Women Position Paper, launched by AWN in
October 2011. They stand in solidarity with their sisters, who will be participating on
their behalf at the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn on 05 December,
2011.
The Women’s Declaration
6. We, the women of Afghanistan, demand from our elected government a confirmation
of its plans and commitments in protecting and promoting women’s human rights
during the transition and post-transition processes. We expect to see more practical
measures implemented by the government to comply with its human rights obligations as
enshrined in the Afghan Constitution.
WOMEN & GOOD GOVERNANCE
7. Afghan women call upon our government and its international allies to strengthen
measures against the widespread corruption and embezzlement within the
government system. This corruption is the one of the main obstacles working against
women’s inclusion and participation in leadership and decision making. Our experiences
reveal that the lack of transparency and accountability in national flagship programs, and
processes such as peace and reintegration, have obstructed our inclusion and participation
in governance at the national and provincial levels.
8. The focus of the Afghan government has been much on the political aspects of peace
and transition processes with little on governance reform and service delivery. Tribal
commanders and middlemen peace brokers mainly control provincial government
functions. These elements have previous records of women’s rights violations.
Communities fearing these elements don’t allow their daughters to continue their
education and work. We call for a dedicated and forthright effort by our Government
to end these abuses.
WOMEN & TRANSITION
9. Afghan women demand that women’s security become a measurable indicator of
transition monitoring and evaluation. Women from the first round of transition
provinces confirm that their mobility has been impacted – in particular, in provinces such
as Laghman. In some areas, female government employees have been threatened. We
fear that women in provinces yet more debilitated by conflict will experience these trends
more acutely as transition progresses across the country.
10. Afghan women call for a systematic approach to consultation with women in
communities and women groups before and during the transition process, to ensure our
voices and perspectives are part of the implementation and monitoring of transition.
11. Afghan women firmly believe that a strong rule of law and accountable justice
system will provide the best remedy for the increasing lack of trust among Afghan
citizens and their government. We believe that widespread corruption has paralyzed the
rule of law, mostly in provincial government functions. Afghan women should be given
the chance to participate in leading a concerted effort to strengthen the rule of law, with
more women in the judiciary and in the Supreme Court Executive Council.
WOMEN & PEACE AND REINTEGRATION
12. Afghan women consider peace and reconciliation to be a critical means to end
violence and instability. A long lasting peace in Afghanistan requires national dialogue
and national consensus building, and our contributions in household and community
conflict resolution put us in a strong position to lead and manage a national dialogue
towards national reconciliation. If the legacies of civil war and internal unrest are
addressed through an inclusive, Afghan-led process, we believe Afghans will become
more united to confront insurgency.
13. Afghan women call for a high standard of transparency in the reintegration
process. Our experiences indicate that insurgents who are reintegrated in our
communities take advantage of reintegration packages and power sharing deals while
their families are far away in the neighboring countries. Therefore, the reintegration
process should become a community-based initiative in which insurgents reintegrate
together with their families. This way, community members will monitor their post-
reintegration activities as well.
14. Afghan women demand a 25% quota of women on the High Peace Council and
Provincial Peace Councils. In most provinces, the only female representative is a
government employee.
WOMEN & THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT TO AFGHANISTAN
15. Afghan women appeal to the international community to strengthen and continue
supporting women’s groups and civil society organizations during the transition
process and beyond. Women’s groups and civil society organizations are the main agents
of change and inclusive democracy in Afghanistan.
16. Afghan women believe that Afghanistan urgently needs national security forces
whose capabilities and qualifications extend beyond counter-insurgency to include
law and order, community safety, and safeguarding women and children from abuse.
Significant investments should be made to strengthen these aspects of their training and
overall responsibilities.
17. Women’s Rights Defenders and Human Rights Activists are at an increasing level of
threat as political settlements take shape in Afghanistan. Afghan women call on the
United Nations and International Human Rights Organizations to formulate
emergency and long-term protection strategies to support Women’s Rights
Defenders at risk.
18. Afghan Women further appeal to Islamic countries to promote improvements in
Afghan women’s skills and expertise in Islamic law and jurisprudence in their
development and diplomatic engagements in Afghanistan. These skills and qualifications
are necessary for Afghan women to work in high level positions in the judiciary.
For more information, please contact: awn.kabul@gmail.com, +93 (0) 700 286 598
1 These figures are based on estimates from the government and Afghanistan Independent Civil Service Commission.
