Afghan Elections Through a Gender Lens
Channel: New America
Date: 2014-05-02

Afghan Elections Through a Gender Lens
In collaboration with Women for Afghan Women, Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America, and Peace and Security Funders Group

Despite the Taliban's effort to disrupt the recent Afghan presidential elections, seven million Afghan citizens voted (out of an electorate of 12 million), 36% of whom were women. With the preliminary results of the elections announced on Saturday April 26th, this timely event will take stock of the situation in Afghanistan a month after the elections occurred, with particular focus on women, peace and security.  

The progress made by Afghan women over the last 13 years is irrefutable and stands as a testament to the pride, focus and commitment of leaders such as Sima Samar and Belquis Ahmadi. However, the drawdown of U.S. and NATO troops, uncertainty regarding future international funding, and continued domestic challenges to women's progress combine to create an unstable situation in which tenuous gains made by Afghan women could be walked backwards.  
The discussion addressed a number of questions, including the leading Afghan presidential candidates' stances on women's issues, expectations of Afghan women from the new Afghan government, and examining how the international community should support Afghan women beyond 2014.

Join the conversation online using #Afghanlens and following @NatSecNAF.
 
Participants
Dr. Sima Samar 
A well known woman's and human rights advocate and activist within national and international forums, Dr. Samar has received various international awards on women's rights, human rights, democracy, and women for peace since 1994. Dr. Samar served as the first Deputy Chair and Minister of Women's Affairs in the Interim Administration of Afghanistan. Before chairing the Commission, she was elected as the Vice Chair of the Emergency Loya Jirga. She was appointed as the Chair of the AIHRC by Mr. Karzai, Chairman of the Afghanistan Interim Administration.
 
Belquis Ahmadi
A member of the Board of Directors for Women for Afghan Women, Ms. Ahmadi has over 20 years of experience working in Afghanistan on issues related to gender, human rights, civil society development, rule of law, and democracy.  Until April 2014, Ms. Ahmadi served as the Acting DCOP and Cross-Cutting Advisor on the USAID Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations Regional Command East (RAMP UP).  Ms. Ahmadi has also served as Senior Human Rights Advisor in Afghanistan, Program Coordinator for Global Rights for Justice in Washington D.C., and worked a at International Committee of the Red Cross, CARE International, and the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) in Afghanistan.  Ms. Ahmadi earned her LLM in International Human Rights Law from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003 and her LLB of Law from Kabul University in 1992.  Ms. Ahmadi has, in several capacities, worked to build the capacity of civil society and government candidates for a free, fair, and inclusive democratic process in Afghanistan.  She has also published extensively on democracy, governance, and women's rights in Afghanistan.
 
David Sedney
David Sedney is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul from 2002-2004 and was the Director for Afghanistan at the National Security Council in 2003.
 
Moderator
 
Omar Samad
Omar Samad is a Senior Central Asia Fellow at the New America Foundation. He is the founder and president of Silkroad Consulting, L.L.C. He previously served as Ambassador of Afghanistan to France (2009-2011) and to Canada (2004-2009). He was part of the Tripartitite U.S.-Afghanistan-Pakistan security Commission (2003-2004) and was a senior Afghan expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace. 

http://newamerica.net/events/2014/afghan_elections_through_a_gender_lens