Warning: I am still collecting my thoughts and drying my tears of frustration as I write this, so my thoughts may not be completely hashed out, and subject to change.
The complexity of women's human rights is great and far too expansive to completely cover in a blog post. There are books and books written on the subject, so I will not attempt to say anything too profound here in one blog post. That being said the situation of women in Afghanistan is one that is improving since the fall of the Taliban but threatened today. The international community must put more than just words behind. The international community must actively support women in Afghanistan, not just through the arm of the military but by pressuring the government for the inclusion of women at the peace table. It is becoming clear to me that inclusion of women in decision making is my passion. To get to that point, where women are capable of participation you need education. It infuriates me that women all over the world are being kept from gaining an education, kept from participating in their local, regional, national governments, and are rendered almost incapable of making decisions at the international level. We must change this. But how? Through the readings I've done and discussions I've had at MIIS, I'm realizing that empowerment and change must come from within a country, not from imposing foreign views. So what does this mean for me? Or anyone like me? What does it mean for Western women and men who are outraged by the exclusion of women in other countries, and for that matter in their own? I want very deeply to get these Afghan women to the peace table. After watching the PBS Documentary Peace Unveiled (Watch here: )I was moved to tears out of frustration with the Afghani government, the US, and the UN. But I am realizing now it is not my place to go into a country like Afghanistan and "empower" women. That is counter intuitive. Maybe the role for someone like me is influencing my own government and other Western countries to change the way we see and treat women in countries like Afghanistan. Pressure my government to pressure governments like Afghanistan to include its own women.
I have to learn more. I guess that is why I am in graduate school. This documentary is perfectly timed to further invigorate me a about a development project I am doing with a team on Women in Afghanistan. We are proposing a policy plan for an international aid organization CARE. My section of the project is to talk about the role women have in politics and governance. I was extremely interested the topic in when we started but now am even more dedicated to crafting realistic, feasible, and helpful recommendations that incorporates what I learned from this documentary. I have to learn more. Women are dying on their way to the peace table. There has to be a better way at getting them there. This is the most important struggle in my mind. Maybe what I need to work toward is gaining knowledge and a strong research background in women's role in governance and peacebuilding. If I am an expert with field research to back me up I will be better equipped to influence our government to change the way we interact with countries like Afghanistan. One of the most infuriating parts of the documentary is when a group of Afghani women went to the US Embassy in Kabul and spoke with our Ambassador and his wife. They had the audacity of telling them they should be more positive and they should keep the American people in mind. That is not a direct quote, please watch it for yourself but my goodness am I shocked he and his wife had the audacity to say that to them. This is what I feel like I have an opportunity to change and to work with. Our own US officials. What our US Ambassador and his wife said to the women they met with in Afghanistan in 2010 is embarrassing.
I think I have a new goal, we'll see how this evolves. I have amazing professors to guide me while I am here at MIIS. I am incredibly passionate that women should be brought to the peace table. Countries need to uphold United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 which stipulates that women should be included in all post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts. So far, as evident in Afghanistan and plenty of other countries, this isn't happening. Women must be educated equal to men, given opportunities equal to men, so that they can participate in decision-making at a policy level. Particularly in my opinion in post conflict decision making. Women must be a part of the reconstruction process. I want to be apart of getting women to that table. I want to help women get there. I want to help change our own national view on women's role in decision-making here in the US which is flawed, in my opinion.
Secretary Clinton should be applauded for her efforts in this issue. She needs help. I want to follow in her footsteps, hers and other strong, capable women who are fighting to increase women's representation at peace tables around the world. If only our own country would have elected her to the highest decision-making office in our own country. Only 19% of the US Congress is women. We are flawed. The situation of the women in Afghanistan infuriates me and fuels my passion for this issue; but we too have problems.
These are just my thoughts....
Goodnight world.
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