Informative Paper--National Consultative Peace Jirga

A much-anticipated meeting scheduled for this month, May 2010, the Peace Jirga will bring together tribal, local and national leaders to discuss peace. The role of AWN so far has been lobbying and advocacy for women's active, quantitative, and qualitative participation in the Peace Jirga. By establishing a steering committee, AWN has managed to facilitate several meetings with national and international stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved with the national consultative Peace Jirga. Also in preparation, AWN held an Afghan Women Information Forum where they brought 270 women from all over Afghanistan to discuss the Peace Jirga and the Kabul Conference. The purpose of this gathering was to make sure that women from different parts of the country are aware of the important events affecting their lives and subsequently for them to put forward and listen to ideas, comments, and suggestions regarding women's political participation in these processes. As a result of this meeting as well as continuous advocacy and lobbying the number eventually increased from 175 (ten percent of the Jirga) to 336 (twenty one percent of the jirga) women are committed to participate.

Afghan Women's Network is organizing a large event called women convention just two days prior to the exact date of national peace consultative jirga on May 30, 2010. The purpose of this gathering is to bring 336 women from different part of the world to network them with each other as well as share all the activities carried out so far to update them so that every women is carrying same message and ideology. During this event, three women ministers in the cabinet of Afghanistan will come to welcome and announcement their support to the women ideas and presence as strong voices for the 50% of Afghanistan's population who are women. Certain developed documents such as Afghan women's network position paper and guideline will be shared with the women.

Afghan Women's Network has also focused on media advocacy for the national peace consultative jirga. Certain radio spots are developed and are broadcasting now in huge number of radio stations in Kabul and all 33 provinces since yesterdays. The aim of these radio spots are raising awareness of the local citizens in the country as well as talk about women's equal participation in peace negotiations and decision making events in the country. Following radio spots, certain number of publications such as posters and leaflets are also published. The posters will be posted throughout Kabul city for local public awareness. Leaflets carry important statements and documents such as Afghan women reaction to the London conference communiqué, Afghan Women's Network Position Paper for National Consultative Peace Jirga and Guideline for Afghan Women participants to the peace jirga. These leaflets beside distribution to the women participants will be circulated widely among the men jirga participants.