On 3rd February 2014, the 133rd public Dialogue/GOFTEGU of Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA was held at the French Institute of Afghanistan (IFA) in Kabul. A great number of academics, students and journalists attended this session which was held on the occasion of the launching of ‘Unveiling Afghanistan: The Unheard Voices of Progress’ campaign. The campaign is a collaboration between Armanshahr /OPEN ASIA and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and is supported by the Afghan daily 8 Sobh (8 AM) and the Huffington Post in order to address the upcoming presidential elections of Afghanistan. Within this context, over 80 interviews with influential social, political, and cultural actors will be published daily in a count-down to the April presidential elections in the Huffington Post, 8 Sobh, the websites of FIDH and Armanshahr. These interviews depict a picture of the state of Human Rights in Afghanistan and the hopes and concerns of Afghan intellectuals for the future of the country. Through the publication of these interviews, we want to share these hopes and concerns with the people of Afghanistan and the international community.
In the opening ceremony, Ms. Humaira Qaderi writer and women’s rights activist, Ms. Roya Sadat filmmaker and co-founder of the first Women’s International Film Festival Herat, Ms. Adela Mohseni of Women’s division of Armanshahr, Mr. Kawa Jobran poet and novelist and Mr. Yasin Negah poet and journalist were invited to speak. These speakers are among the interviewed intellectuals. In this program in addition to Human and women’s rights issues, the speakers also addressed the demands and expectations of the Afghan people from the future government shaped after the April presidential election.
In a political, social, culture and economic sense, Ms. Qaderi termed Afghanistan as premature. She added; “ten years ago we thought everything is changing and good things might happen. Of course, some good things happened, but they were not enough. Having put a dark era behind them, people were hoping for the better, but the better didn’t really come. The government failed in serving its objectives. The only good thing about the last ten years is the growing political awareness among the people. Today, change and development are the demands of the people of Afghanistan”. She continued; “our intellectuals must cooperate more to pave the way for those who can contribute to bring a change about. Afghanistan is the country of the young and in need of this young and fresh blood. Women for example despite their tremendous capacity are doomed to daily and common tasks. Women should transcend their symbolic role in politics. The future government of Afghanistan must make full use of these female capacities”.
In her introductory speech Ms. Sadat said; “we are a nation with a weak historical memory. The governments seem to be ignorant of the past”. She continued; “since my childhood, what I have witnessed is that no government has ben able to solve the security, poverty, war and corruption issues. I hope that the presidential candidates have concrete programs to tackle these issues, since security and development go hand in hand. Secondly, Afghanistan is highly affected by corruption. Thousands are imprisoned without a clear offense, while those with blood on their hands walk around freely. The unfair distribution of wealth is the other important element of high corruption”.
Ms. Sadat also spoke of the first International Women’s Film Festival -Herat. She said: “last year we opened our festival passionately, but this year due to elections we are afraid of not being able to hold the festival on the occasion of 8 March International women’s day. So far, we have received over 200 films from national and international filmmakers.. We are trying to hold the festival in more cities. Showing these films is an important means to fight violence against women. In addition to this, we have also workshops on the art of cinema provided by experts”.
Ms. Mohseni said, “The people of Afghanistan should vote. Even if they do not have a preferred candidate, they should vote, even if blank, to support and internalize a democratic process. For we are all responsible for the failure and success of this process. If we, the people, do not participate in bringing about a change, no one will do this for us”. She added; “the future government of Afghanistan should pay serious attention to the plight of women. Violence and discrimination against women, which have political roots and done in the name of Islam, should be stopped. The government should enact laws to tackle these crucial issues”.
Mr. Jobran started with a rather pessimistic view of the current situation. He said; “we are claiming democracy in a country where terrorist forces such as the Taliban are armed to the teeth and know no other logic but suppression and disruption. Hence, there is gap between our expectations and the realities. We know all of the presidential candidates and their past. In the past ten years they all have been part this corrupt government. Some of the vice-presidential candidates have committed mass murder and genocide. What can we exactly expect from them”? Mr. Kawa, referring to the lack of rule of law in the country said; “when there is no law, nothing can be undertaken and exercised and all expectations are false”.
Unlike Mr. Jobran, Mr. Negah had a rather optimist views. He said; “I am not only optimistic, I also encourage everyone to be so and participate in the elections. We have every right to be concerned about election results, but in a country with no general and accurate census, corruption is inevitable. Yes, we have corrupt political parties and a corrupt president, but despite all these shortcomings in the last decade, we have learned to peacefully demonstrate against injustice. For the first time in our history, hunger strikes have proven effective. For the first time we have a variety of different media, radio and TV channels. For the first time we have a functioning civil society”.
Mr. Negah further stressed; “the democratic values achieved in the last 12 years, should be strengthened in the upcoming years. We should not allow for these values to be lost again. I am most concerned with security. For without security every effort is in vain. By security I don’t mean the disarmament of the forces only. By security, I also mean a safe mental, social, political and economic state of mind. We also suffer from unemployment. The future government of Afghanistan should exploit our natural resources and create jobs and wealth. Also, in addition to activating factories, a balance should be established between imports and exports. Currently we import up to 99% of our goods. Finally, yet importantly, since 60% of Afghan population consists of youth and 50% of women, the future government should also fully mobilize and support youth and women. The use of this joint capacity is of tremendous importance for the further development of Afghanistan”.
