Sapienza Conference on Women, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan

Women, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan

Sonia Ahmadi

Last week, I was honored to speak at the Sapienza Conference on Women, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan.

The Sapienza University of Rome arranged the conference with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The conference aimed to develop an analysis of today’s conditions of Afghan women within and outside the country, their challenges, and the possible future perspectives within the framework of NAP on Women, Peace, and Security.

We are all aware of the terrible current situation in Afghanistan with secondary girl schools still closed, gender apartheid blooming, severe human rights violations, no justice system, restrictions on free Media and freedom of speech, hunger, poverty, and a dismantled economy.

Millions of Afghans are forcibly displaced, and the migration rate is record-breaking.

Furthermore, narco cultivation, production, and trade are legitimized, and the terrorist affiliates are welcomed.
Therefore, the most critical question is: what viable options do we have to end the current disaster in Afghanistan?

I believe that each of us has the responsibility and the ability to support Afghans in their endeavor to achieve peace, prosperity, and security, as well as to safeguard what remains of the last 20 years’ achievements in Afghanistan.

This can be done by getting united and mobilizing the authorities of the countries we live in and the international community to exert pressure on the Taliban toward a negotiated, principled settlement to form an inclusive government and respect the human rights of the Afghan people in general and Afghan women specifically.

In addition, the Afghan diaspora is responsible for integrating and including Afghan refugees who are newly evacuated to other countries.

We must help the governments of the countries we live in to develop policies that contribute to the fast and effective inclusion of the newly arrived Afghan refugees and the utilization of their resources and competencies.

In this manner, we will employ the knowledge and experiences of the freshly arrived Afghans and, at the same time, contribute to society.

I shared a couple of suggestions to develop sound and effective integration and inclusion policies based on my experience as a refugee and best practices from my work with refugees through my organization and activism.

Headline Image: Sonia Ahmadi

[Sonia Ahmadi is the Founder and CEO at Afghan-Norwegian Women for Change and Research Advisor at NTNU]

20-10-2022

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