Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Afghan Rights Back at Forefront

Afghanistan and its population, especially Afghan women, face an uncertain future as the United States and its coalition partners begin drawing down their forces in the coming months.
Today’s symposium in Gaston Hall, presented by Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace and Security, will include Secretary of State John Kerry, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former first lady Laura Bush as they discuss how far Afghan women have come in the last 10 years. In 2012 both Clinton and Bush were honored by Georgetown’s Center for Child and Human Development and the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council for their work with women and children. Clinton was awarded the Children Lifetime Achievement Award from CCHD and Bush was awarded the Champion for Afghan Women award from the U.S.-Afghan Women’s council.
“Georgetown was a natural fit to host Advancing Afghan Women: Promoting Peace and Progress in Afghanistan due to our work with the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security,” Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh wrote in an email.
“This symposium’s purpose is to raise awareness of the precarious situation faced by the women of Afghanistan as we leave the country,” visiting professor and senior advisor to GIWPS Robert Egnell said.
After the 2001 U.S. invasion and the removal of the Taliban, Afghan women have seen a decade of progress, with women becoming members of Afghan Parliament and assuming top rolls in the Afghan Security and Police Forces. Yet with no post-2014 security agreement decided upon, the gains seen in the last few years are in peril of coming undone.
“In my opinion, they stand to lose ground in virtually every sector which has worked so hard to empower them,” Kimberly Motley, currently the only Western litigator in Kabul, told The Hoya. “Afghan woman are very concerned that as the international forces exit Afghanistan so will their rights.”
Egnell said he believes the symposium represents an integral step to retaining the gains in these rights, because in the past years the United States has shifted its goals in Afghanistan from nation-building to counter-terrorism.
“This conference put these issues on the agenda, on the political landscape,” Egnell said. “It’s a promise to come back to as we draw down in Afghanistan.
While women’s rights have thrived in post-Taliban Afghanistan, the progress has been restricted to urban areas where western influence is tangible, as billions of dollars in foreign aid have been pumped into the cities’ infrastructure.
“There is a dark side to this progress,” Afghan-American Kamran Haris (SFS ’15) said. Born and raised in Virginia, Haris has spent large portions of his life in Kabul.
“Some parts of the country are friendly to women and others are not,” Haris said. “The further south you go, and the closer to Pakistan you get, it quickly turns into the Stone Age.”
Southern Afghanistan has been home to some of the worst fighting of the war and includes Kandahar City, the birthplace of the Taliban, and the Helmand River valley, which irrigates the lucrative and problematic poppy trade.
With the Taliban’s presence still a security issue, Afghan women fear that without adequate protection they will find themselves under the auspices of strict Islamic law once more.
“In recent conversations with Afghan women, particularly young ones, I was struck by how worried many of them are about the post-2014 era,” Washington Post Foreign Correspondent Ernesto Londono said. “I think they see a robust Western presence in Afghanistan as a bit of a shield and worry that without it, ultra-conservative traditions regarding the role of women in society could once again remain the norm.”
While the future remains unclear for Afghanistan and Afghan women, there is little doubt they will need the help of the West to retain their gains.
“It is imperative that the global community remain engaged in helping to ensure that Afghan women continue to gain the momentum that the international community has assisted them in gaining for over a decade,” Motley said.
Kerry, Clinton and Bush are speaking in Gaston Hall at 10 a.m.  

²||| ² ²||| ² #1.3119690:848050323.png:Clinton:Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush are honored at the State Department in 2012. They return to campus today to discuss gains made by Afghans in the past decade.:FILE PHOTO: SARI FRANKEL/THE HOYA ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²||| ² ²|||

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Hoya

Your donation will support the student journalists of Georgetown University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Hoya

Comments (0)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *