While International Women’s Day has been informally celebrated since the early 1900s, the United Nations officially recognized it in 1975, marking it as an annual observance to commemorate the importance of the woman in all aspects of society. In many countries, International Women’s Day has graduated to the status of national holiday, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Eritrea, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, among others.

We commend the efforts made these past several years in the United States towards raising the position of women. Federal agencies, including USAID or the state, defense, and justice departments, have taken heed to President Obama’s December 2011 Executive Order to establish a U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security to ensure women’s participation in preventing conflict and keeping peace. In August of 2012, we celebrated the introduction of the Women, Peace, and Security Act to ensure that this National Action Plan would become more than just an executive order, that we would eventually see its implementation as national legislation.

Most recently, Congress passed the historical Violence Against Women Act. This strengthened our justice system and social services to ensure that women can protect themselves from violence within our own borders, that we can reduce the high rates of physical and sexual violence, so women can safely participate in all aspects of society without fear of attack.

In terms of women’s political participation, an historical number of females were elected composing 18.9% of the 113^th United States Congress—or 101 of the 535 seats (20 Senators, 81 House Members). To name a few significant achievements, Massachusetts saw its first woman elected to Senate (Elizabeth Warren). Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay and female politician to the Senate. New Hampshire became the first state with an all female delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.

And yet, there is still much to worry about. We may have seen historical gains, but we still fail to rank up to many other countries. While we may have 18.9% participation in Congress, many other countries charge ahead, including Iraq with 25.2% female composition of Parliament or Afghanistan with 27.7%. The Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks the United States as 77th out of 190 countries in terms of female participation. This is unacceptable for a country that prides itself on equality.

In the early 1900s, International Women’s Day focused on improving women’s status in the labor force. Certainly we have achieved much progress in this area since that time. However, women continue to be unfairly discriminated against in the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women have lost 454,000 federal, state, and local government jobs compared with 267,000 by men since the end of the recession in June 2009 (Bloomberg News).

Even this past January, government payrolls cut approximately 8,000 positions for women compared with 1,000 for men. This imbalance is bound to continue as sequestration descends upon our economy, possibly trimming growth by 0.5% and prospectively eliminating 350,000 more jobs, according to Bloomberg News.

Take a moment this International Women’s Day to remember all that women have achieved and that still more needs to be done. Take part in the celebration of women by finding an event near you. We must remember that equality and protection for women means stability worldwide.

-Hannah Wheeler, Communications and Development Intern – Boston College Class of 2012

As noted in our official statement on the war in Afghanistan, WAND advocates helping Afghan civilians, especially women and girls, to obtain safety, basic necessities, access to education and employment, and participation in leadership positions in the peace-making process. This new Congressional task force aims to do just that by offering mentorship programs for Afghanistan’s female members of Parliament, prospective elected officials, as well as civic and business leaders.

The launch of the task force follows the announcement of President Obama’s troop draw-down, to which many Afghan women responded with fear of a reversal in freedom and human rights progress.  Afghanistan is considered the most dangerous country for women, and this task force serves to reassure them of our protection and support. The task force will aim to gain more human rights, especially women’s rights, and the present opportunity may be critical. In an op-ed for The Hill, former first lady Laura Bush said:

In 2007, I met with Afghan women at the White House who told me that they live in daily fear that the Taliban’s violence will reverse Afghanistan’s progress toward freedom. Their message was that we must take advantage of this time, or as one woman parliamentarian put it: “This is our only chance.” Today, there is a good chance of success as long as Americans remain engaged and women’s rights are protected.

While the task force’s stated mission is to help the women and girls of Afghanistan, it is also important to realize the greater impact its efforts will have on the rest of the country’s civilians. Ultimately, women’s leadership is extremely important for the long-term stabilization of Afghanistan. A fairer representation of women in leadership positions could lead to less corruption and more benefits
for local communities.

WAND is proud to have one of its own members leading this cause, and we wish everyone involved in the task force success.

This post was written by WAND DC Intern Kathleen Kang.

The Joined by War: Women’s Rights in Today’s Afghanistan broadcast focused on how Afghan women continue to be affected by the decade-long war. As the United States seeks to drawdown troops from Afghanistan in July 2011, it remains to be seen how the status of women’s rights in Afghanistan will be affected. The audience members and two panelists, Sima Samir (Chair, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission) and Safia Sidiqi (women's rights activist and former Afghan parliament member), reiterate that they want participation in the peace processes, not just protection from the Taliban.

The broadcast made it clear that Afghan women desire to be empowered and included in developing a sustainable peace in Afghanistan. Peace is not merely the absence of war, but must include transitional justice for those most affected by war – women and children. As such, Afghan women participating in the town hall meeting indicated that they want to be part of reconciliation and reintegration programs that provide them with greater educational, political, and economic opportunities.

During the broadcast, Afghan women emphasized that military intervention alone will not provide peace and stability. For a lasting peace to take root in Afghanistan, support for development, health, and educational programs must be provided.

Joined by War will broadcast in Afghanistan on Radio Killid and will air on WAMU 88.5 FM and public radio stations across the U.S. on Wednesday, May 4 at 1pm ET and 9pm ET. For more information about the broadcast, click here.

WAND Field Coordinator Elaina Ramsey was present at the town hall meeting and wrote a blog posting of her reflections. You can find her blog posting on the WAND Action Center blog section, or by clicking here.

More Resources:

• "Afghan Women Speak" report by David Cortright and Sarah Smiles Persinger, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
• “Women in Afghanistan” hearing, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Tuesday, May 3 at 10am in the Cannon House Office Building
• WAND’s Official Statement on Afghanistan

Report co-authors David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies, and Research Associate Sarah Smiles Persinger, also interviewed U.S. State Department officials, staff members of international aid organizations, and U.S. military commanders and staff.

While the majority of the women interviewed supported a negotiated end to the war, they also expressed concerns that their interests may be sacrificed in a peace deal, according to the authors. The report highlights the concerns of Afghan women, assesses international efforts to empower women since 2001, and analyzes the security situation in Afghanistan and its impact on women. It concludes with recommendations for Western policymakers on ways to protect women’s gains while pursuing political solutions to the conflict.

This research was funded in part by the Dutch development agency Cordaid.

• Read the full report  here.
• Read a focus summary of the report here.
• Read WAND's summary of the report Afghan Women Speak Summary

On Tuesday, October 26th, Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and diplomats from many nations in saying  that the time was now for actions- not words- to end sexual violence in war and include women in decisions on making, keeping, and building peace.

The UN Secretary General warned that resolution 1325 will never be fully implemented until sexual violence ends in conflicts. Secretary Clinton claimed the only way to achieve the goals of resolution 1325 was to ensure that women participate themselves in all stages of the peace and decision making processes.

"No peace that sacrifices women’s rights is a peace we can afford to support," Secretary Clinton urged.

Since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-led forces in 2001, the promotion of women’s rights in Afghanistan has generated much public debate. Some commentators have suggested that prolonged U.S. and NATO military occupation is needed to protect women’s gains.

Read all of Secretary Clinton's remarks here.