FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2003

Press Contacts: Masuda Sultan, Program Director 917-554-1130
Sunita Mehta, Board Member 917-518-2441

WOMEN FOR AFGHAN WOMEN DISAPPOINTED AND CONCERNED AS
SPECIFIC WOMEN'S RIGHTS OMITTED IN DRAFT CONSTITUTION

"Women move the cradle with one hand and the world with the other."
- Women for Afghan Women conference participant.

Women for Afghan Women is disappointed that Afghanistan’s newly released draft constitution is weak in its affirmation of women’s human rights. We are worried that conservative elements entrenched in the sacred processes of nation-building are gaining political strength and that the ongoing constitutional process of ratifying the document through a 500-member Loya Jirga will further erode the rights accorded to women. Our overriding concern is that the draft constitution with its heavy reliance on Islam, leaves the law of the land vulnerable to extremist religious interpretations that are in opposition to women's human rights.

WAW's September conference, Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003, brought to Kandahar 45 grassroots women's rights activists from cities and provinces throughout the country. These Muslim women of different ethnicities, languages, educational levels, and economic backgrounds, and with varying religious convictions, heroically rose above their differences to craft the Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights, called "an extraordinary document," by a New York Times editorial (Sept. 24, 2003).

These women believe that the rights they demand in the Afghan Bill of Rights are compatible with Quaranic teachings. They were unanimous in their opinion that it was not sufficient for the new constitution to omit particular mention of women in favor of the broad language about the rights of all Afghan “people” in the 1964 Constitution, which accorded rights to women only by default. Mindful of the severe violations and abuses of women's human rights in Afghanistan, the Kandahar participants demanded that specific constitutional rights be secured for women, particularly to ensure women's security and well-being in both the public and private realms. Women for Afghan Women supports without reserve or qualification the demands of these courageous women and the document they produced.