UN celebrates Afghan women

As International Women’s Day was observed across the globe today focusing on the role of Afghan women, a special event was held at UN Headquarters in New York to mark the occasion.

“Let the women of Afghanistan be our reminder as well as our inspiration,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the meeting. “Let us act on the conviction that the advancement of women does not benefit women alone – it benefits us all.”

Speaking on behalf of Dr. Sima Samar, head of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the UN’s Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela King, said that the main losers of the foreign-backed wars in Afghanistan were the women and children who had played no part in the hostilities.

“Women have seen their homes destroyed, their sons and daughters killed, their futures ruined and their dignity and rights as human beings taken away,” King said on behalf of Dr. Samar. “True reconstruction in Afghanistan requires a plan for recovery and rebuilding the lives of Afghan women. Without women’s participation in all parts of life, development will not happen.”

The first lady of the United States, Laura Bush, told the meeting that Afghanistan under the Taliban regime gave the world a sobering example of a country where women were denied their place in society but that the world was helping Afghan women return to the lives that they once knew.

“Women were once important contributors to Afghan society,” Mrs. Bush said. “Many women were professionals. They were teachers, doctors and lawyers and today many will be returning to those professions.”

Mrs. Bush emphasized that educated women and children were an important part of the process of creating a better society.

“Improvements in women’s education have contributed the most by far to the total decline in child malnutrition,” Mrs. Bush said. “Mothers with a secondary education have children with mortality rates nearly 36% lower than mothers with only a primary school education,” she added.

Annan noted that assistance to women would produce benefits for all people. “When women are involved, the benefits can be seen immediately: their children are better educated, they are better fed; they are better able to protect themselves against AIDS and other diseases; their families’ income and economy improve,” he said.

“And what is true of families is true of communities – ultimately, indeed, of whole countries,” he said.

Norwegian Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby, the current President of the Security Council, said that the Council increasingly recognized the connection between gender equality and peace.

“Several recent peacekeeping operations include a gender component. Peacekeeping personnel are trained in gender sensitivity. Attention is being paid to the need for more women as military observers and military police,” Kolby said.

Kolby added that the Security Council would continue to address the needs and participation of women in its efforts to support peace and security in Afghanistan and other conflicts around the world.

“If there is no security for women, there is no security,” Kolby said.