"We all want stability and peace, but not at the price of women's rights. We're told that women's rights are a development issue, not a security issue. But women's rights are part of what the fighting is all about."
-Afifa Azim, coordinator of the Afghan Women's Network, an umbrella organization of over 84 NGOs and 5,000 individual members.
"We will not abandon you, we will stand with you always...[it is] essential that women's rights and women's opportunities are not sacrificed or trampled in the reconciliation process."
-US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton speaking to female Afghan officials in 2010
Hard-won gains for women could be seriously compromised as the Afghan government and its international partners pursue reconciliation and peace negotiations with leaders of the Taleban and other insurgent groups, without ensuring mechanisms to guarantee human rights.
Many Afghan women fear that their rights may be sacrificed in the search for a settlement with Taleban leaders. In areas they currently control, the Taleban continue to curtail women's human rights severely. They have carried out a concerted attack on girls' education and have murdered women prominent in public life. Afghan women's human rights defenders fear that their newly won rights will be severely eroded if the Taleban are brought back into government.
Amnesty International urges the U.S. government to adopt an action plan for Afghan women to ensure that their rights are not traded away in the reconciliation process. The U.S. should make clear that human rights are non-negotiable and ensure local women are included in the transition process and that mechanisms are in place to uphold those rights after any agreement is reached. Take Action Now!