Ottawa

Speech by Asma Ibrahim

Member of the Afghan Women Organization (AWO)

First of all, on behalf of the Afghan Women’s Organization (AWO), I would like to thank South Asia Partnership of Canada, the organizers of this event, and Mr. Omar Zakhailwal for giving us an opportunity to express our concerns. Secondly, Ms. Adeena Niazi, the executive director of the AWO, sends her regrets for not being able to attend today’s event. However, I will try and do my best to make sure that the position of the AWO concerning recent matters is conveyed to everyone here today. I also want to note that for the past couple of years our organization has attended consultations on Human Rights issues in preparation for Geneva organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada and are thankful for their ongoing support and efforts to help the people of Afghanistan. 

I will begin with a short introduction about our organization. The Afghan Women’s Organization is a non-profit organization committed to assisting vulnerable Afghans in Canada, in refugee camps and in Afghanistan. The AWO promotes the successful settlement of Afghan refugees in Canada through advocacy and a wide range of settlement services. The AWO also provides assistance and protection to refugees and to internally displaced and vulnerable people in Afghanistan, through advocacy, relief, education and income-generation projects, and through sponsorship to Canada. 

The AWO is not a political organization and we do not favour one political party over another, nor do we favour any one ethnic or linguistic group over another in Afghanistan. Our main concerns are those related to human rights abuses. Serious human rights abuses have occurred within Afghanistan for over two decades, most of which have gone virtually unnoticed. Women and children are the most vulnerable and most often the victims. 

For decades, the Afghan nation has sought freedom and civility, enduring foreign interference, civil war, and both human made and natural disasters. They have been terrorized and kept hostage for years. Millions are at risk of starvation and millions more have fled. While their struggle has not gone completely unnoticed, their voice has been largely muted, particularly the voice of women.  

Before the tragic events of Sept. 11, most people around world were not concerned about the fact that the Taleban had prohibited girls from being educated and employed. They did not march in the streets because the Taleban were shrouding women in the hopeless darkness of their oppressive policies and their dictates. Now, almost everyday in the media we are reminded of the violations of women’s rights and the suffering of the Afghan people.  

Maybe we should let this be a lesson, that if we don't speak against intolerance in other parts of the world, intolerance will visit itself upon our shores and in our lives. And maybe this is a moment to wake us from a sense of self-absorption to look outside ourselves and to examine ways that we can connect to others. This is why we are here today and hope that together we can come up with some ideas on how to help those in Afghanistan, especially women who have endured so much.  

Yet, there are those who have been struggling to free the collective voice of Afghan women. In Canada, the AWO has been working to raise awareness in Canada about the human rights abuses in Afghanistan, and to aid in the empowerment efforts of Afghan women and their families. This non-profit organization is bringing the voices of Afghan women to the Canadian public in an effort to understand the personal story of people forced to live under extreme oppression and poverty. Their story is most often not one of creating conflict and inflicting terror, but of resilience and hope in the face of unbearable oppression and poverty. The average Afghan citizen seeks peace, security and freedom, just as we do in Canada. By listening to the voice of Afghan women, and through an increased understanding of their desperation, we may find the will and the means to help rid Afghanistan and the world of terrorism, without accelerating the cycle of fear, anger and violence.  

We hope that the Canadian government can convey the following message to the international community. As frantic efforts to help establish a government to fill the power vacuum in Kabul is being sought the UN and world community should have a clear plan for a broad-based government that is representative of all the ethnic groups with full participation of women in the future government in Afghanistan (not one or two as tokens but many at all levels). We feel more emphasis should have been placed on forming a post-Taleban government before launching a military attack. 

It should not be forgotten that the Afghan Constitution enacted in 1964 guaranteed equality for men and women under the law. We hope that the rights and freedoms of women will not be left off the negotiating table once again. Women are the majority of the population in Afghanistan and without their participation in negotiations, the peace process, the interim government, the Loya Jirga and the rebuilding of Afghanistan, the process will not be sustainable or democratic. Then there will be no difference between this new process and the failed governments of the past.  

We hear in the media that Afghan women have been liberated since women are no longer forced to wear the “burqa.” While we do support women’s choice to cover themselves, this does not indicate that their rights have been fully restored. Right now, ensuring their safety should be a priority, especially as we hear more about looting in Kabul, which may eventually put the physical dignity of women at risk once again. Therefore, our organization supports the presence of UN peacekeepers within Afghanistan to help rebuild the peace we once had by disarming all the groups. 

Canada may help assisting Afghan women by networking with Afghan women all over the world. In the long-term, Canada, as well as the international community can help in reconstructing Afghanistan by providing resources in order to reopen schools for young women and girls at all levels of education and facilities necessary to attain respectable standards of physical and mental health. It should be noted that before the communists took power, during the period of democracy, Canada helped Afghanistan with irrigation and consultancy services. In addition, Canada can help by providing training programs for teacher, including courses in health education, teaching women how to administer vaccinations and promote safe pregnancy and delivery practices. Similarly, they can help supply vitamin A supplementation, essential drugs, nutrition surveillance and therapeutic feeding for malnourished children among various other needs. 

We want to emphasize that anyone who has committed human rights abuses in the past should not be included in the new government. They should be held accountable for all their human rights violations. Regardless of what becomes of the Taleban and the Northern Alliance both of whom have committed human rights violations and their power over Afghanistan, it remains the responsibility of the international community to assist Afghan people as they mend and redefine their shattered lives. And Afghan women must be part of this process. Because of the past history of the Northern Alliance during which rape and kidnapping were rampant, we are especially concerned for the safety of women in Afghanistan. It is important to acknowledge the need for accountability and also acknowledge that Human Rights violations were tolerated in the past by the international community. We propose the UNHCR should call a special session for purposes of creating a Commission of Experts to investigate the ongoing Human Rights violations against women in Afghanistan and to create measures to hold those responsible accountable. Those who committed these abuses should be held criminally responsible and prosecuted in accordance with international Human Rights standards. The victims of these abuses should receive fair and adequate compensation, including means for full rehabilitation. 

Also, efforts should be made to stop the bombing of Afghanistan. We feel that the bombing should not have begun in the first place and that other peaceful methods should have been exhausted before the decision of waging a war. Canada has an established reputation as a peacekeeping nation and we would have hoped that Canada had taken the lead to seek peaceful solutions to the problems encountered after Sept. 11. However, we are still hopeful that Canada will help lead the world community in bringing about peace and security within Afghanistan. It is the innocent people of Afghanistan (the poor, the disabled as Afghanistan is the most land-mined country in the world, the women and children) who have suffered most as a result of the bombing campaign. The military campaign is costing billions of dollars and we propose that there should be the same resources build-up for the people of Afghanistan. The combination of three years of drought and more than two decades of fighting has taken a heavy toll on Afghanistan. At this time, the priority for Afghans is humanitarian assistance and the assurance of peace and security. People lack food, medical assistance, basic human rights, and security. The humanitarian situation, particularly for the most vulnerable, women and children, continues to deteriorate as a consequence of the bombing. There are alarming levels of malnutrition. Even before the war against terrorism was declared, approximately 5 million Afghans were at risk of severe food shortages. The situation of the Afghans in the refugee camps in the neighbouring countries was and is horrendous and the camps are disproportionately composed of women and children. Canada should make an effort to put pressure on neighbouring countries to adhere to international laws that allow refugees to seek refuge during times of crises when their safety is threatened. These countries should be held accountable for their refusal to open borders and to keep acceptable standards within these camps. After all, the people who migrate to these borders are forced due to circumstances beyond their control and the least that the international community can do is to ensure that they have a safe place to stay until they are able to return to their country of origin. 

How about Afghans living in Canada, what are their feelings about what is happening? Our organization has received many calls asking for counselling services as people are sad and depressed and worried about the status of their families. We at AWO want to urge the Canadian government to maintain its humanitarian policies by continuing to provide asylum to refugees and by increasing the levels of refugees resettled to Canada by creating special programs to resettle Afghan refugees as they have done for other countries in the past, particularly as the crises in Afghanistan worsens. 

We, in Canada, hope that something good will come out of this tragedy. That people in Canada and around the world will be better aware of the desperate situation of Afghans and help to rebuild Afghanistan. We hope that when the bombing has ended, the international community will not turn its back on the people of Afghanistan who have suffered for so many years. We ask for your compassion. 

I would like to end by quoting the UN Human Development Report:

“The world can never be at peace unless people have security in their daily lives. The search for security in such a milieu lies in development, not in arms.”