Afghanistan

Secretary Clinton is a forceful and effective champion for women's rights. In the case of Afghanistan, the Secretary is dedicated to ensuring that women's rights will not be negotiated away in the name of peace. As she said in Kabul in July, “If women are silenced or marginalized, prospects for peace and justice will be subverted.”

Has the plight of Afghan women improved and what will happen when the US leaves? Video here.

When the Taliban fell in 2001, my family and I were already settled in Pakistan after having fled our home country, Afghanistan, like so many others. The new political landscape born in 2001 brought newfound hope to Afghans, including my family. I remember the mounting enthusiasm for women's rights, which was shared by the international community and the Afghan government.

Shannon Galpin, of Summit County, is the first woman to ride a bicycle in Afghanistan since the Taliban rose to power.

It was the ride of her life.

“It's beautiful, especially in the north,” Galpin said. “It's rolling hills covered with flowers and majestic mountains.”

It seems a small thing, rolling through the countryside, but it might be one of history's most death-defying bike rides.

Katie Couric interviews HRW researcher Zama Coursen-Neff. Ongoing Taliban attacks on women in Afghanistan show why women's rights should be a priority in any political agreement with insurgent forces. To see the interview please click here.

Melanne Verveer
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
U.S. Institute of Peace
Washington, DC
July 27, 2010

We, the delegates of the Afghan Women's Movement from First Women's Council to Kabul Conference, welcome the Afghan Government's efforts for an Afghan-led action plan for improved governance, economic and social development, and security. We acknowledge the progress in the area of women's rights in the last eight years, and appreciate the support of the international community and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in this regard.

The conference Afghan Women's Movement from First Women's Council to Kabul Conference was a joint event of Afghan Women's Network and Equality for Peace and Development in coordination with Ministry of Women's Affairs.

These are the faces that Mary Redlin still sees, days after she returned from Afghanistan:

A 35-year-old woman, almost 25 years of her life spent in an arranged marriage, the mother of six, talking about her life with quiet despair.

A woman in the market, skin stretched and puckered, probably by fire or acid.

Editorial statement by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas