Women for Afghan Women
Press Release No. 3
November 30, 2001

HILLARY CLINTON, OTHER CONGRESSWOMEN VOICE SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

The leaders of Women for Afghan Women, the first grassroots organization in New York City dedicated to the rights of Afghan women, announced today that they had received letters of support from: senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; Congresswomen Barbara Lee, Carolyn Maloney and Cynthia McKinney; playwright Eve Ensler; and from Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.

It was also announced that the proceedings of the conference on Afghan women organized by the group at CUNY Graduate Center on November 29 and 30 would be published as a book by St. Martin’s Press. The group intends to organize a variety of events showcasing Afghan women, and to hold annual conferences in order to promote their full participation and equality of rights in the future government of Afghanistan.

The conference, attended by some 300 persons from the local Afghan community, the CUNY academic community, UN officials and human rights activists, heard presentations by various experts on the situation in Afghanistan before concluding its work in the afternoon of Friday, November 30.

The following spoke on a panel entitled "Human Rights Today": Helima Kazem, financial journalist; Farida Azizi, Afghan peace activist and program officer for Norwegian Church Aid; Irena Lieberman, director of legal services for Tahirih Justice Center; and Zohra Rasekh, senior research associate for Global Watch Group. The panel was moderated by WAW member Masuda Sultan. Speakers gave details on the dire economic situation faced by the country after 23 years of war, in particular the problems posed by millions of landmines and the destruction of physical and social infrastructure. It was pointed out that both women and men had suffered under the repressive Taliban regime. Given the importance of religion in Afghan culture, it was essential to introduce human rights education in a way that showed the compatibility of human rights with religious precepts.

The fourth and last panel was entitled "Peace, State-Building, A Seat at the Table." Angela King, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, provided information on the talks taking place in Bonn under UN auspices, and made a number of suggestions for enhancing women’s participation in peace-building. Felicity Hill, Director, UN office of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, described NGO efforts to promote attention to women’s issues by the UN Security Council. Other speakers were: Sara Amiryar, Georgetown University, who provided details on the loya jirga process in Afghan history; Fahima Vorgetts, Afghan women’s rights activist; and Gulbadan Habibi, project adviser, UNICEF, who spoke on the abuses suffered by women and children. All speakers stressed the importance of the role of women for the success of reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, as well as the need to ensure that such efforts be respectful of cultural and religious sensitivities. The first part of the panel was moderated by Laura Reanda and the second by Masuda Sultan, WAW members.