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Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign; establishment and activities

The year 2009 was an important year in the post-Taleban era. On the path of democracy and a sustainable peace to adopt democratic methods and rely on rights and demands of the citizens, the country went through its second presidential election. The election campaigns provided women’s rights and civil society activities an opportunity to get together and state their minimum demands to government officials.

The role of the civil society activists was of great significance in creating mechanisms to oversee directly or indirectly the elections and the procedure for deciding qualification of the candidates, and consciousness-raising. Thus, endeavours were made to establish a unified women’s group to leave a positive impact on the election.

 Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign[1] was established through a joint initiative of Armanshahr Foundation, Women’s Political Participation Committee, National Committee of Women and a number of human rights and civil rights activists. The goal of the group was to raise demands of the women with presidential candidates and other elected officials as well as government officials, to influence convergence among women’s rights activists and to strengthen the women’s social movement. If those demands had been followed up by the president and other officials, they could have helped gradually to reform the conditions of women in Afghanistan.

Ever since its establishment (Spring 2009) to its conclusion (January 2013), Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign adopted positions at all important junctures, e.g. Bonn II Conference, London Conference, Peace Jirga, Kabul Conference, parliamentary elections and other national and international occasions.

Here are the links to some of the statements of the campaign:

Women of this land are still far away from the implementation of the Constitution

Joint Statement of Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign and Women’s Political Participation Committee on Human Rights Day

Today we are worried that dark minds, illiteracy and lack of consciousness may once again lead the society to the precipice of destruction

Joint Statement of Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign and Women’s Political Participation on torture and atrocious killing of a woman at Maidan Wardak province

Women’s rights are human rights

Joint Statement of Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign and Women’s Political Participation on 8 March, International Women’s Day

Statement of Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign on Human Rights Day and National Day of Victims

Open Letter to president of Afghanistan

Statement of Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign on 8 March

 

[1] All links are in Persian