Author: Sayed Hussain Hussainy

The presence of women representatives in the government's negotiating team for peace talks is one of the issues that many believe can have a significant impact on the quality and the outcome of negotiations. Some believe that the very presence of women in peace talks will convey to the opposing team the fact that women in Afghanistan today are more aware than ever and will never step back.In an interview with the CSHRN, Mr. Ashrafi Khorasani said that women, as one of the main victims of war and violence in the country, could be the voice of justice in an international level and their presence in peace talks would convey to the opposing team the fact that Afghan women will not accept the return to Taliban regime. He added, "The presence of women, in fact, warns the opposing group that Afghan women have reached the needed awareness and are not currently returning to the Taliban emirate, because women today, given their growth and development, want to participate in political power and to own authority to live in an open-minded society where they can work side by side with men for their excellence and evolvement. I think this will definitely be effective."CSHRN: How do you assess the peace talks?Ashrafi Khorasani: Our society needs peace in any case and I hope we can achieve a long-lasting peace in any way possible. It is satisfactory to start the talks in a preliminary way and to enter the so-called stage of peace-building. The fact that the two sides are sitting around the negotiating table instead of fighting is a success and this promises peace throughout the country.CSHRN: Is restrictions acceptable on women’s rights?Ashrafi Khorasani: I think there may be some restrictions and we have to pay this price to achieve peace, but…

Some of the citizens with concern to the result of peace talks say that, if a proper and credible commitment is not going to be made with Taliban, the citizens specially women in Afghanistan may experience the Taliban regime once again.In an interview with the CSHRN, Khodadad Watankhah said that their main concern is that, Taliban as power partner in Afghanistan, use their ideologies of their regime while dealing with women. Yahia Erfan added, “We are seriously concerned that after peace talks, the Taliban use the same misogynous looks as they used to do during their regime towards women. If Afghan government and world community do not emphasize rigidly on protecting women’s rights, they might be more restricted even like thirty years back and that is a disaster.”CSHRN: According to what Taliban’s leaders have said in inaugural of peace talks, they still persist in establishment of an Islamic government in Afghanistan, do you think making peace with such group will lead to desired result?Erfan: According to my opinion, controversy over Islamic government is something far from the fact. Because if there is an argument about Islam, the constitution of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the system that Laws and provisions, procedures and doctrines are implemented based on that, are all Islamic. No law is enforced if it is against Islamic norms. Therefore, I believe talking about Islamic government is a kind of blackmail. In another words, Taliban want to have the control of the process in order to convince the government of Afghanistan of some other terms and desires of themselves.CSHRN: How should the government use the peace talks as an opportunity?Erfan: Since the government of Afghanistan has entered into the dialogues with a comprehensive and proper position, this is a good opportunity to create a new national debate…

A number of women's rights activists in Kapisa say the outcome of the talks will not be satisfactory if the women members of the negotiating team do not agree on issues to be discussed in the peace talks and how to raise them with the Taliban.“Despite the skepticism about the outcome of the peace process; I hope the delegates are honest and move forward with the same points of view”, said Sarah Sirat, a women's rights activist in Kapisa, in an interview with the CSHRN.Criticizing the inequality of the number of male and female representatives in the negotiating team; some women activists say that because peace and war are believed by some to be masculine, women have a smaller share of the team, but Ms. Sirat believes that women have never been to war and they have been the common victims of the war. Ms. Sirat added, “Women have always lost their brothers, husbands, fathers and children, and they have suffered a lot psychologically and hence they should not stay in the minority in decisions that affect their destiny”.According to Ms. Sirat, the absence of representatives of the media, civil society and victims of war in peace talks is seen and felt, and since some of these groups do not trust the transparency of this process, they have the right to be present and be informed of its content.CSHRN: What problems do women face in Kapisa?Sirat: One of the main problems for women in the province is insecurity, which sometimes causes girls and women to be forced to drop out of school and work; a problem that is more prevalent in Taliban-held districts.According to Ms. Sirat, another part of women's problems in Kapisa is related to job opportunities. She says, “Study opportunity is good here and one member…

Asma Sahebzada talked about her school days, that she has always dreamed of having a building for the school where she was studying. Even now that she has studied until higher level, she is dissatisfied with the education conditions of women in her neighborhood because, according to her, issues such as insecurity is still an obstacle to women's education and their progress. In an interview with the CSHRN, Asma Sahebzada said that the biggest issue women in Baghlan face is their low level of education and they cannot continue learning due to insecurity. She adds, “One of the points that always reminds me is that I am not a master’s degree holder and therefore my privileges as a lecturer are not added. The problem is that in the current situation, there is no room for more education and capacity building for female lecturers.” CSHRN: Please tell us more about your experience regarding this problem. Sahebzadeh: For me, insecurity has not only prevented me from continuing my education, but also I have sometimes missed opportunities to enhance my skills and gain effective work experience. Due to some security considerations, including once in a legal education program in one of the districts, I was selected as a teacher, but I could not participate due to insecurity; The program organizers said that they would not insure the security, so I missed that opportunity just because it was impossible for me to travel alone in that unsafe situation. CSHRN: Apart from what you said, what other problems do the women of Baghlan face? Sahebzadeh: Women in the provinces have always been marginalized to the toughest point because in a way, the message reaches them that they cannot do great and effective things. The rights of Baghlan women have always been violated, for…

She speaks of her sister’s interest and endless efforts pursuing higher education. Graduation from high school aspired her to pursue further education in India. At that time, parents in Daykundi did not allow their daughters to study. However, her parents allowed her to go to India. Maryam Azadah Hussaini said that her sister Najiba Hussaini successfully finished her bachelor’s degree despite of challenges and being away from home.Najiba Hussaini returned to the country after accomplishing her bachelor's degree in 2011 and worked in a department of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. In 2014, she secured a merit-based scholarship in Japan. She received her master’s degree and returned to Afghanistan. She started her previous job until one day all things has changed forever.Najiba had thrived despite of adversities and challenges. Unfortunately, her successes turned into grief. She died of a suicide attack by Taliban in the vehicle of the employees of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum going to the workplace just a few days after her family celebrated her 28th birthday.On the day of the incident, Maryam arrived at the scene first. Since their parents live in Daykundi, Maryam, her brother, her relatives, and Najiba’s colleagues started searching for her body. Maryam finally identified Najiba’s body in the hospital.As Najiba's only sister, Maryam not only bears the brunt of the bitter memories of the day of the accident over the sweet memories with her sister but also remembers Najiba's day-and-night efforts to achieve her dreams, which eventually all caught fire with her. Maryam shared the same room with Najiba and witnessed her efforts for getting acceptance for Japan’s scholarship. Every time she woke up, she saw Najiba studying tirelessly to achieve her desired result.Ms. Hussaini said that she and her family have not yet been able to…

Some social activists believe that there should be a guarantee of women's fundamental rights protection in the peace agreement. Otherwise, the agreement would not have validity. In an interview by CSHRN, Mr. Farwak said that protection of women’s rights must be highly considered; negligence of it will jeopardize success in the implementation of the peace agreement. Due to systematic injustice waged on Afghan women throughout the history of Afghanistan, it is worth mentioning that there should be guarantees of women’s rights protection in the peace agreement. Their rights to education, work, and political participation are the main issues or concerns.   CSHRN: What is your assessment of the peace talks so far? Farwak: Prospects of peace negotiations depend on three factors: the US election, the influence of engaged regional powers in ongoing chaos in Afghanistan, and the interest issues of the Afghan government and Taliban. Firstly, the US election highly overshadowed the peace negotiations. It caused to stop the peace talks for a while and the Afghan negotiators returned to Afghanistan. Secondly, throughout the peace process, we have witnessed the escalation of conflict and the rise of terror and violence caused by regional powers in pursuit of their own interests. Finally, the negotiating parties are pursuing their own interests instead of finding a solution for ongoing chaos.     CSHRN: Given the history of Taliban, especially with regards to women, what consequences will the peace talks have on the social and political presence of women?Farwak: Considering the Afghan women’s vision of peace talks, they perceive it with two different insights. The Afghan women whose family members are foot soldiers whether in government military forces or are fighting for Taliban are hoping the end of the conflict as soon as possible. They wish reunion of their family members when they are concerned regarding…

Some women activists believe that Afghan women should start independent movements to advocate and defend their rights, especially after the start of peace talks, which has raised some concerns about their rights being ignored. These activists believe that there is the capacity to create such movements among the country's educated women and girls. In an interview with CSHRN, Niloufar Langar said that It should not be forgotten that a large number of Afghan women have gone to school and university in the last two decades, worked and demonstrated their potential in various fields. Afghan women, especially the educated ones, have the capacity for such movements and they only need motivation to start.CSHRN: Given the Taliban’s history, especially with regards to women, do you think that the negotiations will have a positive outcome?Langar: The Afghan government, the negotiating team and the country's international allies, who also have a supervisory role to play, must recognize that the Taliban is, above all, a religious extremist group, specifically with issues such as human rights and women's rights. They do not believe in freedom of expression and democratic values. Therefore, it is naïve to believe that they will join the government while respecting democratic values. The government must defend democratic values, including freedom of expression, press, and women’s rights and discuss them with details. Otherwise, the achievements of the past two decades will be sacrificed and society will relapse to the dark era of the Taliban.CSHRN: Can the government’s negotiating team change the Taliban’s view of women?Langar: Taliban’s centuries-old petrified views will never change. Therefore, the Afghan government should speak from a position of power while making the sincere efforts to reach a peace agreement. Democratic values and women’s rights should be maintained.CSHRN: Do you think that the government negotiating team have the ability…

The fall of Taliban regime brought her and her family from abroad back to Afghanistan, hoping to live peacefully in the land where they belong. She inhabits Herat where she became a member of several literary associations from the ninth grade and joined the Faculty of Persian Literature at Herat University after graduation from school and passing the university entrance exam.Yakta Ahmadi, a young poet, said that when she and her family decided to live in Afghanistan, she never imagined facing difficulties because of her gender in her fatherland. She added that living in Afghanistan and struggling against all hardships made her fearless, and independent. She does not regret returning to Afghanistan. Ms. Ahmadi said that she has done a lot for women’s rights protection. She has tried to recount women’s problems and defend their rights in every possible means, including poetry. “Women’s conditions in Afghanistan encouraged me to put efforts for equal rights for men and women and raise awareness among women who are not aware of their rights. Though not significant, I have always tried to defend women’s rights through civic activities and poetry,” said Ms. Ahmadi. It is years since she has remigrated to another country from Afghanistan for the second time. Reckoning her challenges as a poetess, she said that her poems have often faced criticism of being outspoken and uncensored coverage of women’s issues. Nonetheless, she never allowed her poems to be censored. She believes that women’s poetry should reflect her real experience. According to her when men write about their experiences, they are never criticized. Women’s writings, on the other hand, are always censored. “I have never accepted censorship of my own poems. I am glad to be one of the first women in Herat to have written uncensored poems, read it before thousands of…

Dariush believes that lasting peace is achievable through consideration of social justice provision and fundamental rights protection of citizens.In an interview by Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), Dariush stated that peace is not only the absence of war. In his perspective, setting a ceasefire does not indicate peace when people are suffering from a violation of their fundamental rights. Because there is not any guarantee for observation of social justice and fundamental rights of people. Therefore, a short-term ceasefire is not trustable due to the existence of the probability of its collapse at any time.CSHRN: What is your assessment of current negotiations? Will it reach a tangible outcome?Dariush: I think the peace negotiations are going to become ambiguous more than before overtime for the reason of not observing the violence reduction agreed between the US and Taliban. It was one of the preconditions for the start of intra-Afghan peace negotiations. There is not any sign for consideration of the article related to such an issue mentioned in the agreement. We are witnessing violence on a large scale in cities upon agreement between the US and Taliban. Also, the Trump administration’s policy for hasty withdrawal strengthens ambiguity of the achievements in peace negotiations. Additionally, the external interferences in peace negotiations are another obstacle on the way of reaching a tangible result in the peace process which makes the negotiations more controversial. Hence, we cannot be optimistic about the current negotiations to have an inclusive outcome in a short time.        CSHRN: With taking into consideration the Taliban’s perspective regarding women, how will their presence affect the women’s political and social rights in the ensuing days of political settlement?Dariush: Taliban have a long history of misogyny and malevolence manifestation. They showed animosity to ethnic, religious, and linguistic…

A number of women’s rights activists believe that various issues in society are obstacles to women's progress that they have to fight them. In an interview by Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), Ms. Naderi said that numerous factors hurdle women's progress in Afghanistan. Alongside Taliban, the closed-minded men and women in our society holding the same view of women’s freedom as Taliban hampers the Afghan women's contribution to the prosperity of society. CSHRN: Given the history of Taliban, especially with regards to women, will the negotiations have a favorable outcome? Naderi: I think it would be an irresponsible perspective if we biasedly approve our government’s position in negotiations and condemn other political fractions. Despite continuous world support and billions of dollars donations to Afghanistan, still we are not capable of putting and an end to the war, reduce poverty and have a convergent perspective of the future. It is essential for all of us, as much as Taliban, to understand the cruciality of our responsibility in helping the process of finding a way out for ongoing chaos and conflict. Introducing a negotiation party as savior and another one as evil does not help the process of solving the knot of two decades of conflict. We acknowledge that the path toward peace is tortuous; however, it would become easy to pass if both sides [government and Taliban] feel responsible for the future of innocent people in the country. CSHRN: How can women’s presence in the peace talks affect the Taliban’s view of women? Naderi: We need a national consensus to present a better picture of the current political system, equality, values of the constitution with its inclusiveness. At the peak of the crisis right now, women should fight for their rights and freedoms. Working at the government was a huge success for…