Fears for the rights of Afghan women after handover
Australia and the other countries involved in the war in Afghanistan have decided to pull out their troops by the end of 2014. But while anti-war activists have called for rapid withdrawal of NATO forces, the handover has some people concerned. There are fears that women’s rights and the progress made over the last decade could be lost.
Women are mostly excluded from negotiations, and groups like the Taliban have not acknowledged women’s rights in the reconciliation process. Quhramaana Kakar has worked as a gender advisor for the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program, an Afghan government peace program set up to help insurgents stop fighting and reintegrate into the community. She says women struggle to have their voices heard and she believes NATO forces are pulling out too quickly.