Pres. Biden and Congress: Ensure Afghan women’s rights alongside peace with the Taliban

Pres. Biden and Congress: Ensure Afghan women’s rights alongside peace with the Taliban

Started
August 5, 2019
Petition to
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 2 others
Signatures: 123,227Next Goal: 150,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Nahid Fattahi

My name is Nahid Fattahi and I know what’s it like to be marginalized and traumatized because of my gender. I am deeply worried that unless the global community comes together, the lives of so many women in Afghanistan will be at risk. And I’m here begging the world to join me in calling on the American government to #SafeguardAfghanWomenRights and #StandWithAfghanWomen

In the past 19 years, Afghan women have made so much progress and have been both empowered and free. Afghan women want their freedom to be guaranteed and sustained alongside peace and a full ceasefire with the Taliban. 

That’s why I’m asking for your signature today, demanding that U.S. leaders don’t sacrifice the rights and lives of women in any peace deal with the Taliban. We also demand that women and their perspectives be meaningfully included in all aspects of the peace process, in accordance with the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017

The people of Afghanistan are yearning for peace, as the war in Afghanistan continues destroying lives due to the direct consequences of violence and the war-induced breakdown of public health, security, and infrastructure. But peace with the Taliban can only be concluded when the peace agreements are backed by measurable indicators ensuring women will have access to education, mobility, healthcare, and justice. 

The peace agreement must explicitly guarantee the following: 

  1. All girls and women will be allowed education in schools and universities exactly as is currently in the big cities of Afghanistan. Including having the freedom to participate in student exchange programs, and other scholarship and fellowship opportunities
  2. Universities will not be segregated 
  3. Women will have political participation freedom: Right to vote and hold office
  4. At least 30% of parliamentarian seats must go to women.
  5. Women will have the freedom to work anywhere they desire without having to have permission of a male guardian 
  6. Women will have the freedom to travel anywhere they desire without having to have permission of a male guardian 
  7. Women must continue to be a part of the mass media and entertainment industry. 
  8. Freedom of the press and freedom of speech must be continued
  9. As a survivor of child marriage, I advocate for having legal frameworks to protect girls and women from violence. The Elimination of Violence Against Women Law (EVAW law) is very vulnerable and susceptible to compromise in the peace process. The Afghan women need a guarantee that their rights will not be negotiated with the Taliban. The EVAW law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan enacting by a Presidential decree must be safeguarded.

Stand with us, the women of Afghanistan, and ask President Biden, and the American government to work with us to make sure that Afghanistan’s peace that we desperately need can be achieved and sustained alongside our human rights. 

Please sign this petition to make sure Afghan women’s rights are guaranteed and sustained alongside the potential peace with the Taliban.

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Signatures: 123,227Next Goal: 150,000
Support now
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