What happened at the Afghanistan Women’s Summit in Albania?
At a recent international summit, a diverse group of women called for the establishment of a government in Afghanistan which guaranteed the “equal participation of women and men” and is based on the will of the people. Many of the participants emphasized the illegitimacy of Taliban rule and also urged the international community to continue not recognizing the Taliban’s administration of Afghanistan as either legitimate or lawful.
This three-day summit, held from September 11 to 13 in Tirana, the capital of Albania, was organized by the Women for Afghanistan. More than 120 political activists, human rights and women’s rights advocates, journalists, and artists attended, including some women protestors from within Afghanistan. To prepare for and organize the conference, they had held consultations with women inside and outside of Afghanistan for the past six months, explained Women for Afghanistan in a resolution released to the media after the summit had ended. The resolution also thanked the Albanian government, especially its foreign minister, Igli Hasani, for facilitating the summit, as well as the countries of Switzerland and Spain.
In that document, the women explained that the goal of the summit was to create “a critical space for women to brainstorm and develop a joint vision.” The resolution also revealed that a working group will be established to draft an “All-Afghan Women’s Political Manifesto for the Future of Afghanistan.”
During the opening session of the summit, Fawzia Koofi, a former member of parliament and one of the founders of the Women for Afghanistan, expressed her gratitude to the summit’s supporters, adding that some invited participants and guests, including those from inside Afghanistan, were unable to attend.
In an interview with The Guardian, Koofi stated that finding a host country was the most challenging part of organizing the event. According to her, some countries, including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, either declined her request to host the summit or did not respond.
Among the government representatives at the summit was Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights. In her speech, she reiterated the commitment of the United States to defending the rights of Afghan women, emphasizing that what is happening in Afghanistan affects the rest of the world. In particular, she noted how many achievements of Afghan women, including education, work, and freedom have been lost in the three years of Taliban rule.
During Rina Amira’s speech, a group of women stood in protest and chanted famous protest slogans such as “Education, Work, Freedom” and “Recognize [that Afghanistan is] gender apartheid.” One of those who chanted at the Tirana summit is Tarannum Saeedi, who had protested against Taliban rule in the streets of Afghanistan. “Our aim with this protest was to bring the voices of millions of Afghan women and girls to the international community, so that by exerting political pressure on the Taliban, they can end the crisis in Afghanistan and the problems women face,” she tells Zan Times.
The first day of the summit was dedicated to speeches by the organizers and government representatives. In addition, they saw a performance by famed Afghan singer Elaha Soroor, who also chanted the famous protest slogan of “Bread, Work, Freedom.”
On the second day, participants were divided into several committees to discuss topics including the human rights situation in Afghanistan, women’s rights under Taliban rule, international recognition that the Taliban’s acts amount to gender apartheid, women’s political participation in a post-Taliban government, women’s economic issues, and humanitarian aid. The work was detailed and precise.
Negina Yari, a human rights activist, who was a member of the economic and humanitarian aid committee, explained that some of her committee’s proposals included monitoring humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, ensuring gender equality, meaningful participation, and women’s access to humanitarian aid. As well, the committee proposed that a neutral international monitoring team be created to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. “We suggested that this impartial group be established to monitor the funds going to Afghanistan through international NGOs and the United Nations,” Yari tells Zan Times, noting that the committee also emphasized the necessity of involving Afghan women in the monitoring process to ensure that women and girls get humanitarian aid.
Negina Yari said that because some committee discussions continued into the third day, the overall resolution wasn’t finalized until later that last day of the summit.
The 14-point resolution of the summit was published on Monday, September 16. Its contents did not please everyone at the summit. In particular, its last two points (No. 13 and No. 14) pertaining to negotiations with the Taliban were the subject of intense debate and were not unanimously accepted.
- Point No. 13: “Any meeting or dialogue between the international community and the Taliban should include women representatives of Afghanistan as part of the relevant delegations, both within and outside Afghanistan.”
- Point No. 14: “Any negotiation or dialogue with the Taliban must be conducted based on principles, in consultation with Afghan women inside and outside the country, and in adherence to all human rights laws and values.”
As a result, those two points were highlighted in red and marked with the following: “Issues agreed upon by the working committee but not reached consensus on in the general assembly.”
During the summit, some women activists expressed their opposition to the statements contained within those two points of the resolution. One of those women who were concerned, Munisa Mubariz, tells Zan Times that she and other activists repeatedly emphasized that negotiations with the Taliban are not an option. They told the summit that they do not want to sit at the table with the Taliban under any circumstances. She adds that the two articles were “completely rejected by the protesting women, but there were people in the assembly who wanted negotiations with the Taliban.”
After these two points were included in the final resolution, Munisa Mubariz says that a group of protesting women sent a letter to the organizers of the summit, once again expressing their objection to these two articles. Zan Times obtained a copy of the letter, which states: “The Taliban, with their widespread violation of human rights, especially women’s rights, is an illegitimate regime on the international level. Any interaction with this group would in some way legitimize them. This is in direct conflict with the principle of illegitimacy of the Taliban, which is clearly stated in the earlier sections of the resolution.” Munisa Mubariz that she and others will continue their protests if their demands are not accepted.
There were other criticisms directed at the summit. Mohra Fabi, an LGBTQ+ activist, tells Zan Times that the summit specifically excluded queer women and thus does not represent all Afghan women. She believes that some of the organizers and participants of the summit “are embarrassed to work with or defend queer and trans women rights.” To Mohra Fabi, such conservative summits cannot represent the human rights of all Afghan women.
Wahida Amiri did not attend the summit. She was concerned that there would be compromises over women’s rights at such a gathering. “Our worry is that politicians might make deals behind closed doors with the terrorist group,” says Amiri, who protested in Afghanistan for women’s rights. “We are not willing to demand women’s rights under the Taliban’s flag, because that is not just, and we will not engage with Taliban lobbyists. We must work toward fighting the Taliban, prosecuting the group, and removing them from power.”
Human rights activist Palwasha Paiwandi also expressed concerns about the Tirana summit. In particular, she believes that protesting women were unable to have a “direct role” in drafting the final version of the resolution and that its content does not align with what was discussed in the committees. Paiwand hopes that the summit does not lead to negotiations with the Taliban.
One of those who was invited but could not attend due to travel document issues is Halima Pazhwak, the head of the Afghan Republican Women’s Network. She tells Zan Times that summits would be welcomed if they lead to practical actions, but that summits limited to discussions and issuing resolutions have few real effects, pointedly noting, “Many summits have been held, but none have had a positive impact on the Afghan people, especially women,”
