Global News
How will the withdrawal of Canadian troops affect Afghan women?
By Alexandra Stiles
The withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan signals a significant shift in the future of Afghanistan and the international community’s involvement on the ground. Articles in western press have expressed concern over the withdrawal of international troops and the repercussions on women’s rights in areas such as education and health as well as women’s role in the development of Afghanistan’s future. We spoke with GNWP member Afifa Azim of the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) and Corey Levine, a human rights and peacebuilding policy expert whose recent paper “In Afghanistan, A Woman’s Place is at the Peace Table – An Analysis of Women’s Participation in the Afghan Peace Process” provides some excellent insights into the lives of women in Afghanistan.
From the perspective of both Azim and Levine, the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Kandahar bears no imminent threat to women in the region, as a hand-over to U.S forces should maintain the status quo. However, this development may be viewed as the start of international military support being withdrawn, potentially leading to a domino effect of international military departure, as domestic support for withdrawal grows. Whilst an international military presence is viewed by many women as creating tension and provoking insurgency, the alternative is perceived as a great threat to women’s rights. Levine explains, “Afghan women are very concerned; if the troops pull out what does it mean for them?”
Azim is keen to explain, “Afghanistan does not want international troops to remain in our country for the long term. We did not expect them to be present in our country for such a long period of time. However, we do want to ensure that the international community helps support and put into place a way to protect women’s rights prior to their departure. We feel that the funds invested into military support would have been better invested into rebuilding our country and supporting civil society – this has been lacking and we fear that withdrawal will occur without impactful development having taken place.”
Indeed, domestic desire for withdrawal could lead to women’s rights being compromised at the negotiation table, in favor of a “peace” plan inclusive of all parties, including those opposed to women’s advancements. Levine explains that, “Afghan women fear that if there are negotiations with the Taliban, these advancements may be eroded.” Azim agrees, “Yes, we are concerned about women’s rights being compromised at the peace table. This is why we encourage the international community to include women in this process – not just women who hold government role, but rural women. AWN recommends this involvement, or true peace will never be realized.”
How will women’s rights be protected when the international community leaves Afghanistan? Afghanistan’s legislative commitments to gender equality over the past 10 years, such as the ratification of CEDAW and articles of the Afghan constitution like Article 22, committing to gender equality; Article 43, guaranteeing education for all Afghans; Article 83, guaranteeing women a minimum number of seats in Parliament, is one area that needs to be closely monitored. “If you don’t have a legal framework to hold governments accountable, you have no space to negotiate on women’s rights. Whilst the legal framework in Afghanistan may feel like an unobtainable aspiration, the process of social change will catch up with the legal framework,” says Levine. Azim also welcomes the adoption of these laws and highlights the need for their implementation before international troops depart Afghanistan to ensure a legal precedence is set.
The issue of women’s rights in Afghanistan being affected by the withdrawal of Canadian troops has put women’s rights back in the spotlight. Whilst the implications of Canada’s departure are minimal, it does raise the question of what should be done by the international community to protect women in the foreseeable future. As Azim explained, this does not require the presence of international troops in Afghanistan, but it does require the international community to focus on laying the foundations for an Afghanistan where women are equal.
News from the Ground
Localizing SCR 1325 and 1820 in Nepal
By Helena Gronberg
However, the adoption of the NAP is only the beginning and Nepal now finds itself at the implementation phase, which will be the true test of commitment and intent on the part of both the national government and the district development committees. Yet, “we realize that many local implementers do not know the process,” says Kiran Prasad Dhungel, consultant for the local legislation workshops and an expert on local planning. “It is very important to make them aware of 1325 implementation.” “This is the first workshop of its kind,” adds Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, Sadhu Ram Sapokota, “and it will be very productive in terms of integrating the National Action Plan in the district level planning process.” Sapokota, who was part of the Peace Support Working Group that drafted the NAP actively participated in the Nepalgunj workshop and also served as an expert and resource person.
The workshops that convened over 60 participants from Banke, Dang, Kanchanpur, Baglung, Syangja and Kaski districts in the western and mid-western development regions of Nepal served as fora to raise awareness and enhance the capacity of local actors to integrate the National Action Plan on 1325 and 1820 into the district development and district administration plans. Participants from the six districts drafted recommendations and committed to concrete activities that they agreed to carry out within their respective areas of employment. The group from Kanchanpur committed to conduct 1325 awareness-raising programs in Tharu language for at least 15 village development committees. The Police Superintendent for Banke district committed to integrate SCR 1325 and 1820 in the regular training for the Armed Police as a means to ensure that training is provided to the national security sector and not only to those being deployed to foreign peacekeeping missions.
“Bringing all the stakeholders together and localizing the activities is a very good strategy and an innovative initiative that GNWP has taken,” says Former Secretary of the Ministry of Local Development and Chief of Women’s Development Department, Ganga Datta Awasthi. He adds however, that the initiative should not be limited to this workshop and emphasizes the importance of a follow-up with the six districts to see what they are doing 8-12 months down the line. “Such follow-up will give a very positive result and should then be replicated in other areas as well,” he says.
As part of GNWP’s effort to promote cross learning and South-South exchange, we invited Visaka Dharmadasa from the Association of War Affected Women in Sri Lanka and Zarin Hamid of the Afghan Women’s Network to take part in the local legislation workshop in Nepal. Although the context in Afghanistan is very different from Nepal, Hamid believes that similar initiatives “to work with local actors on how to bring the resolution to their communities” could be replicated in her country. In the case of Sri Lanka, Dharmadasa points to the need to work in local languages and cites her experience in Nepal as inspiring in that regard.
The Government of Canada supported the local legislation and capacity building workshop in Burundi and Nepal; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway provided support to the workshops in the Philippines.
GNWP is committed to the follow-up work in Nepal and hopes to replicate the initiative on local legislation and 1325 in other countries.
Featured Member
ISIS International
by Marion Cabrera/Alexandra Stiles
Founded in 1974, Isis International was created by feminists Marilee Karl and Jane Cottingham to create and disseminate content to support the women’s movement. In 1991 Isis moved its office to Manila in an effort to support the women of the global south. By using media and information communication services (ICTs) Isis has provided knowledge and championed women’s human rights since its conception 37 years ago.
There are various issues in the global south that motivate Isis International’s work, including women’s participation in peacebuilding, climate justice, sexual rights and gender based violence. Isis International objectives are to:
Isis achieves these institutional objectives through its programmatic work on feminist action research; activist schools in feminist development communications; and organizational sustainability for movement building. The following projects showcase some of Isis International’s major achievements and reflect how Isis International’s objectives are met:
Like many other organizations in the global south, Isis’ work is also challenged by funding cuts and fundraising. This maybe rooted in a belief that policies developed automatically translate to an improvement in women’s everyday lives. However, this is not always as easy at the community level. Isis together with its project partners continues to address these challenges with resilience and creativity in how it maximizes human and financial resources.
For its future projects Isis International has chosen three thematic issues that affect men and women in the global south. This will be the institutions thematic focus for its next strategic cycle:
