WAND Response to President Obama’s Drawdown Plan

June 23, 2011

President Obama had little chance of satisfying all constituencies with last night’s speech to the nation about drawing down our presence in Afghanistan.

WAND is not satisfied that the war still rages on --but we are heartened by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

‘In the last four months, this Afghan-led political process has gained momentum.

Twenty-seven Provincial Peace Councils have been established in Afghanistan, and the Afghan High Peace Council has stepped up its efforts to engage civil society and women, even as it also begins reaching out to insurgents.

Including women and civil society in this process is not just the right thing to do – it is also the smart and strategic thing to do. Any potential for peace will be subverted if women are marginalized or silenced. And the United States will not abandon our values or support a political process that undoes the social progress that has been made in the past decade.”

We believe that any drawdown plan must establish a security network for citizens. Women and children have been terrorized in Afghanistan long enough.  Thank you to Secretary Clinton for reminding all the players in the drawdown of the need to include Afghan women in the transition and reconciliation.

We must all speak up now.  Never-ending wars in Afghanistan have left a cultural legacy of silencing women.  No civil society can exist harmoniously without the equal participation of women – and without the inclusion of women in planning and decision-making, the results will not create peace.

Thank you, Secretary Clinton for being a voice for women and for real peace.

Written by Susan Shaer