CONFERENCE/MEETING: WPS Lecture Series: The Situation of Women in Afghanistan: 2014 and Beyond

On September 13, 2013, PeaceWomen, along with the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations and the Princeton University Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, hosted our ninth Women, Peace and Security (WPS) lecture on “The Situation of Afghan Women: 2014 and Beyond.” The event, which featured Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women Ms. Manizha Naderi, highlighted the need for government reform to uphold women's rights and security, and the critical role of civil society in strengthening women's capacity and access to community and political processes. Held immediately before the Security Council's quarterly debate on Afghanistan, the event brought particular attention to recommendations by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and WILPF, which stress that the Council should call for strengthened action to ensure women's security, participation, and rights in post-conflict processes.

Naderi shared experiences about securing, protecting, and advancing the human rights of Afghan women and girls through her work with Women for Afghan Women. Through the work of support centers both in New York and across 10 provinces in Afghanistan that include human rights education, Women for Afghan Women has been able to directly reach over 8,000 Afghan women. Naderi highlighted the human security risks of formal and informal political institutions, and emphasized the need for government action to promote gender justice through strengthened and transparent role of law that upholds women's human rights and invests in women-led civil society as key in implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda. As American troops leave the country, Naderi's comments are a reminder of the importance of strengthened support for post-conflict reconstruction that promotes gender justice and builds the capacity of women and women-led civil society to build peace from the ground up.