Where I am in DC the days are mild and nights are crisp. But in Afghanistan, hell is freezing over. Some starving families are resorting to selling their daughters. This tragedy is a legacy of the chronic exclusion of women in decision making. That’s the subject of the most recent piece I co-authored with my […]
Ahead of the 2014 NATO Summit, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) developed this document detailing how their government and the international community can ensure women’s rights and safety as NATO finishes its troop withdrawal. AWN consulted over 500 women in eight provinces to translate their concerns and priorities into these concrete recommendations, which address issues […]
Delegates from Pakistan stand in front of the US Capitol building with Inclusive Security’s Founder and Chair, Ambassador Swanee Hunt, after delivering their recommendations on countering violent extremism to members of Congress in April 2014. The women advocated for prioritizing the recruitment and retention of women in Pakistan’s police force, a provision now included in […]
In April 2014, 21 members of the Afghan Women’s Network gathered to discuss how to advance women’s inclusion in the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program. They returned to their provinces to consult women in their communities and provincial-level decision makers on the issue. In June, they reunited to create these recommendations for national and international […]
After 12 years in Afghanistan, US-led coalition forces are drawing down their presence, and the Afghan government is assuming full responsibility for the security of its citizens. A presidential run-off election is scheduled for next week, and peace talks remain precariously paused. Women have exercised their rights to work, vote, be educated, and serve in […]
This article was originally published by The Daily Beast. Fifty-three billion and change. That’s how much the U.S. has spent to build, train, equip, and sustain the Afghan National Security Forces. Still, this support hasn’t resulted in a military that is inclusive, representative, or capable of addressing the security needs of all Afghans—men and women […]
On October 29, Michelle Barsa of Inclusive Security Action testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee about the challenges to securing Afghan women’s gains in a post-2014 environment.
This article was originally published by Huffington Post. After the tragic assassination of the head of the High Peace Council — Professor Burnahuddin Rabbani — in late September, many pundits took to the airwaves, blogosphere, and Twitterverse to predict the death of the reconciliation effort in Afghanistan. While the brazen killing was undoubtedly designed to […]
This article was originally published by Huffington Post. On December 5, the international community will gather with Afghan leaders in Bonn, Germany’s picturesque Cold War-era capital, for the latest stock-taking of Afghanistan. While some are tempering expectations for the second major conference in Bonn in ten years, Afghan women leaders see an opportunity — and […]
This article was originally published by Thomson Reuters Foundation. As attention turns to the July 20 donor conference in Kabul, the international community must recognise that lithium and cobalt aren’t the most important resources to be tapped in returning peace and prosperity to Afghanistan. Women are the key. Too often dismissed as victims, Afghanistan’s women […]
