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10/31/2001
UNITED NATIONS - An Afghan woman urged the U.N. Security Council to
ensure that the war-battered country's women are included in any peace
negotiations, despite the second-class status they hold under the
Taliban regime.
"Do not think that because women wear a veil we do not have a voice,"
said Jamila, who heads an organization that helps Afghan refugee women
in Pakistan. "When the U.N. is looking for leaders, look to us."
On the first anniversary of a U.N. resolution that committed governments
to include women at peace tables while protecting them from the abuses
of war, Jamila joined women from Kosovo and East Timor in urging the
council to keep its promises.
"I have often heard that Afghan women are not political. That peace and
security is man's work. I am here to challenge that illusion," Jamila
told council members at a closed meeting on Tuesday. "For the last 20
years of my life, the leadership of men has only brought war and
suffering."
The women's statements were released at a press conference after
Tuesday's meeting. Council members approved a statement Wednesday
calling for stepped up implementation of the resolution.
The council reaffirmed "its strong support for increasing the role of
women in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and
resolution," according to the statement. It also renewed "its call on
states to include women in the negotiations and implementation of peace
accords, constitutions and strategies for resettlement and rebuilding."
Jamila, who uses one name, said the timing of the council meeting was
particularly important given the current discussions on the future of
Afghanistan.
Last week, she and other Afghan women sought the support of Lakdhar
Brahimi, the U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan. Brahimi is currently in
Pakistan, as part of an international effort to ensure that any future
government of Afghanistan represents all ethnic groups.
Jamila strongly opposes the ruling Taliban militia, which controls 95
percent of Afghanistan and imposes a harsh brand of Islam, especially on
girls and women. It prohibits women from working outside the home, bans
schooling for girls over the age of 8 and requires all women to be
shrouded in a burqa from head to toe.
"The Taliban – they are extremist elements," Jamila said. "They are not
acceptable for Afghan women. We want a government which is acceptable
for the people of Afghanistan (where) women should have equal rights."
Noeleen Heyzer, head of the U.N. Development Fund for Women that was the
moving force behind last year's resolution, said "the Security Council
is extremely interested in having the issue of women in Afghanistan
addressed."
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, however,
Heyzer said, "we have yet to hear women's voices in the political
debates on terrorism and conflict, on Afghanistan, on the refugee
crisis, on the way forward."
Jamila said Afghanistan can be a model for the Security Council
resolution if women take part in peace negotiations and are consulted on
refugee issues.
Women and girls represent 54 percent of the Afghan population, she
noted. Women served as government ministers in the 1960s and by 1970
were taking part in grand councils known as loya jirga – traditional
gatherings of elders.
"We remember a time when women were doctors, lawyers and judges," Jamila
said. "Women must be included in any peace-building efforts to ensure
peace and lasting security. ... We are the role models for our youth; we
are working for security and peace."