Thousands of Afghan women band together to protect their civil liberties 

The Voice of Afghan Women in Defence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan campaign met on Sunday in Kabul and called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the war and bloodshed “of innocent Afghan people”.

The women, who are party to the resolution numbered 15,700 and were from 34 provinces.

On Sunday, hundreds of these women came together in Kabul, at an event facilitated by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and issued a nine-point resolution stating clearly that while they have “never been involved in the conflict” they have paid the highest price. 

They pointed out that they have been left homeless because of the ongoing war and have lost fathers, husbands, sons, brothers and other family members through years of conflict. 

They stated that women across the nation want their voices to be heard by the parties involved in peace talks and by the world. 

Top of the list of demands was that for a ceasefire, second was that conflict by Muslims against Muslims is not permissible and they called on religious scholars around the country to work for the promotion of peace, the preservation of national and religious values in order to strengthen national unity, mutual acceptance and conflict resolution through mosques. 

They also called for rights and achievements of the last 20 years to be respected and for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity to be maintained. 

They stated that as Afghan women, they consider the preservation of the country’s constitution as a national obligation – so as to guarantee their civil and political rights in peace negotiations. 

“We, the Afghan women support the public movements and actions of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to achieve lasting and dignified peace, and we emphasize on the continuation of these movements for the establishment of lasting peace in the country.”

They also called for the families of those affected by the war to receive support and said “we Afghan women seek the support of neighboring counties and the region for the peace process in Afghanistan and we ask the international community to ensure lasting peace and to provide necessary cooperation to strengthen our country’s fence and security forces.”

The women stated that as “responsible citizens” they want to live in peace and know that language, ethnic and religious differences are all accepted – “because our beauty lies in ethnic, religious diversities and national unity”.