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AFGHANISTAN - STATEMENT ON THE MARGINALIZATION OF WOMEN IN THE NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT

 

By Dr. Massouda Jalal

Founding Chairperson of Jalal Foundation

and Former Minister of Women, Afghanistan

 

 

 

On behalf of the 50 women NGOs and women’s councils throughout Afghanistan that are members of the Jalal Foundation network, we articulate our concerns and sentiments in regard to the resolution of the political impasse in Afghanistan and the recent signing of the National Unity Agreement by President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah.  

 

First, we commend the efforts of the United States government and the United Nations in facilitating the resolution of our political impasse, thereby averting an imminent escalation of civil turmoil.  Undeniably, the leadership and skillful diplomacy of US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Special Representative of the Secretary General Jan Kubis played a big role in facilitating a peaceful, and hopefully, workable solution to the political crisis.  We acknowledge their important interventions although we hope that the honorable new President of our country and his teammate, Mr. Abdullah, will not need foreign interventions anymore as they wade through the thick jungle of issues that have to be sorted out, especially after the departure of NATO and the reduction of international development assistance to Afghanistan. We expect them to act like matured statesmen so that the well-being of the Afghan people may not be held hostage again by their differences.   

 

Second, we want to raise our serious concern over the lack of transparency about the substantive content of the National Unity Government Agreement that was signed between President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah.  While the electoral public hail the installation of a new President, many Afghans are very unhappy that the negotiations on the framework of the National Unity Government had been kept under wraps, leaving us in a quandary over what kind of leadership we will have to deal with in the next five years.   We need not reiterate that President Ghani and Mr. Abdullah have an obligation to be transparent and truthful in their manner of governing the affairs of the country. 

 

Third, we are very concerned that the women’s agenda may again be marginalized under the new administration. During the election campaign, President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah both promised to uplift the status of the women population. However, both of them had also left the women out of the information and consultation loops while negotiating on the provisions of the National Unity Government agreement.  We can never allow this to happen and we trust that our new President will not sustain the marginalization of women that his predecessor did in his 13 years of leadership.

 

In view of the above, we wish to communicate to President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah that the women’s sector expect no less than the fulfillment of their election promises.  Specifically, we call upon them to immediately convene a dialogue with women leaders of the country to define the agenda that the new government will adopt to empower women and attain gender equality. 

 

We will not tolerate any further marginalization of the women’s agenda in the new administration and we are ready to lend our support to this government in the pursuit of enduring peace, democracy and gender equality. 

 

On behalf of the 50 women NGOs and women’s councils throughout Afghanistan that are members of the Jalal Foundation network, we articulate our concerns and sentiments in regard to the resolution of the political impasse in Afghanistan and the recent signing of the National Unity Agreement by President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah.  

 

First, we commend the efforts of the United States government and the United Nations in facilitating the resolution of our political impasse, thereby averting an imminent escalation of civil turmoil.  Undeniably, the leadership and skillful diplomacy of US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Special Representative of the Secretary General Jan Kubis played a big role in facilitating a peaceful, and hopefully, workable solution to the political crisis.  We acknowledge their important interventions although we hope that the honorable new President of our country and his teammate, Mr. Abdullah, will not need foreign interventions anymore as they wade through the thick jungle of issues that have to be sorted out, especially after the departure of NATO and the reduction of international development assistance to Afghanistan. We expect them to act like matured statesmen so that the well-being of the Afghan people may not be held hostage again by their differences.   

 

Second, we want to raise our serious concern over the lack of transparency about the substantive content of the National Unity Government Agreement that was signed between President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah.  While the electoral public hail the installation of a new President, many Afghans are very unhappy that the negotiations on the framework of the National Unity Government had been kept under wraps, leaving us in a quandary over what kind of leadership we will have to deal with in the next five years.   We need not reiterate that President Ghani and Mr. Abdullah have an obligation to be transparent and truthful in their manner of governing the affairs of the country. 

 

Third, we are very concerned that the women’s agenda may again be marginalized under the new administration. During the election campaign, President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah both promised to uplift the status of the women population. However, both of them had also left the women out of the information and consultation loops while negotiating on the provisions of the National Unity Government agreement.  We can never allow this to happen and we trust that our new President will not sustain the marginalization of women that his predecessor did in his 13 years of leadership.

 

In view of the above, we wish to communicate to President Ashraf Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah that the women’s sector expect no less than the fulfillment of their election promises.  Specifically, we call upon them to immediately convene a dialogue with women leaders of the country to define the agenda that the new government will adopt to empower women and attain gender equality. 

 

We will not tolerate any further marginalization of the women’s agenda in the new administration and we are ready to lend our support to this government in the pursuit of enduring peace, democracy and gender equality. 

 

 

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