Prioritise rights of women, charity urges

As politicians arrived in Brussels ahead of a conference to discuss the future of Afghanistan, the UK’s Catholic international development charity Cafod warned that more support must be given to local organisations, particularly those that empower women, writes James Roberts.

On 4 and 5 October, up to 70 foreign ministers from around the world were due to gather for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, jointly hosted by the European Union and the Government of Afghanistan. “For the sake of millions of Afghan women, men and children, we need to show our continued support,” said Dominic Carroll, Cafod’s country representative for Afghanistan. Palwasha Hassan, director of Cafod’s partner the Afghan Women’s Educational Centre, said: “Women’s lives in Afghanistan have improved over the past 15 years, but the gains are still fragile. It wouldn’t take long for the gains to be reversed if support is withdrawn.”

In Vienna the Austrian Catholic Women’s Association (KFBO) called for measures to guarantee gender equality during asylum procedures. Women were often disadvantaged due to lack of awareness of their culture or social background, said chairwoman Veronika Pernsteineran at an event organised by the UNHCR. “We must ensure that during asylum procedures women can assert their rights. Women who have never or seldom attended school in their home countries and have been socialised in patriarchal societies have often never learned to speak up for themselves – especially not when it comes to sexual violence.” There were even women asylum seekers who were not conscious of the fact that female genital mutilation, forced marriages or violence was an injustice, she pointed out.