Participation

At an international conference in London last week, seventy countries pledged to back Afghan President Hamid Karzai's plan to negotiate and reconcile with some Taliban.

A few major themes emerged from the Afghan conference today in London. One is that it's time to talk to the Taliban. Another is that the Afghan security forces need further empowerment both for future peace and stability, a process that must be Afghan-led in its entirety.

Behind the rhetoric, the fancy words and high-profile delegates, here's the reality.

At last week's London Conference on Afghanistan, the first in a series of summits led by Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghan women were left out in the cold. Only four men thought it important enough to attend the “Women's Priorities” panel, an event assembled by Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), and billed as the primary Afghan women's event outside the summit itself.

Farida Tarana defied age-old Afghan tradition, death threats and sexual discrimination to become a pop star and later the public face of post-Taliban women's politics.

Now a local legislator, she is a prominent example of the progress Afghan women have made since the 2001 overthrow of the radical Islamist regime that barred them from education and working outside their homes.

Any agreement between the Afghan Government and the Taliban should include a clear commitment to protect women's human rights, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women said today.

To be an outspoken critic of the government brings a heavy price in Cambodia, the South-east Asian country struggling to put behind decades of war and brutality, including the Khmer Rouge genocide.

A woman's place is at the negotiating table, especially when the issue at hand is about winning lasting peace that has eluded the community for decades. This view was strongly expressed by Laisa Alamiya, a lawyer and member of Nisa Ul Haqq Fi, a Muslim women's group; and Teresita Quintos-Deles, former presidential advisor on the peace process, during recent discussions held as part of the National Women's Summit held in Quezon City.

President Hamid Karzai recently outlined proposals that could see the Taliban share power in Kabul. What should not be forgotten is the Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001. That period in Afghanistan was characterised by brutality, a medieval style of ‘justice' and gross violations of rights — particularly women's, rights.