Continuing efforts needed to ensure equal rights in Afghanistan

M. Asharf Haidari, the political counselor of the Afghan Embassy in Washington, believes that much remains to be done to combat the violence and insecurity that hamper efforts to improve Afghan women’s lives. Haidari’s views are expressed in an op-ed in the March 7 edition of The Washington Times.

Although Afghan women have regained many of the freedoms they lost under the Taliban’s “gender apartheid,” Haidari fears that “worsening security and violence threatens the freedoms Afghan women have fought for over the past seven years.”

Haidari cites the disparity between the $35 billion in international aid pledged, and the $14.5 billion actually delivered as one of the main reasons for the insecurity and the government’s inability to adequately assist its most vulnerable citizens.

“Taliban fighters have killed female teachers and burned down hundreds of schools, depriving more than 300,000 girls of education in the south and east of Afghanistan,” Haidari said, later adding: “It is only in the enabling environment of security, rule of law, and prosperity that the hopes and dreams of Afghan women can grow.”

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