Women for Afghanistan (WFA), with support from the Rapid Response Window (RRW) of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), held its first in person Central and South Asia regional dialogue in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 8-11 July 2024. The organization also conducted virtual consultations with 160 women from across Afghanistan virtually.

Over 40 women from Afghanistan that are residing in Tajikistan attended, as well as government representatives and civil society representatives in Tajikistan. The organizing team from the WFA was led by its Chair, Fawzia Koofi.
The regional dialogues are an initiative organized by the WFA to bring together women of Afghanistan who are residing in Central and South Asia, to build unity and foster collaboration. The outcomes of the regional dialogues will contribute to the upcoming All Afghan Women Summit that will take place later this year. Additionally, the objective of the dialogues is to establish partnerships with civil society organisations (CSOs) and government officials in the countries hosting women from Afghanistan to join forces advocating to improve the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. The regional dialogues follow a series of online dialogues that have been taking place since May 2024 (and ongoing) with women based in every province across Afghanistan.
The regional dialogues, as well as consultation with women from all walks of life inside Afghanistan, aim to paint a fuller and up-to-date picture of the situation faced by Afghan women by speaking to them directly to understand their concerns and needs, and find a pathway – to be led by women – towards a sustainable peaceful resolution to the current crises in Afghanistan. The dialogues and consultations also help WFA to ensure that it incorporates the requests and demands of Afghan women both inside Afghanistan and in the countries hosting women from Afghanistan in all advocacy and dialogue efforts.
The following DEMANDS and CALLS TO ACTION were made by the women of Afghanistan in the country and those based in Tajikistan:

Call for Action from women in Afghanistan:
Long-term:

• An invitation for women inside and outside of Afghanistan to unite and work together on three key areas: education, access to work and peaceful political settlement.
• The Women’s movement inside and outside the country must prepare the ground in their own communities and homes to create more awareness about the gender apartheid.
• The international community must take action to codify gender apartheid as crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.

Immediate:

• As women are no longer permitted to run NGOs, since April 2024, they must be represented by their male colleagues. The UN must negotiate to try and get this decision reversed.
• The UN country team in Afghanistan needs to create a monitoring mechanism for humanitarian aid distribution. The aid distribution – at least in Herat and Balkh – excludes women or women-headed families. Local unregistered women groups need to be included in humanitarian aid distribution. Currently in some areas (reported by the women in the WFA dialogues), local representatives in the area, the Wakil Guzar or the local representative (semi selected by the Taliban) are in charge of aid distribution and are hugely influenced by the de-facto authorities.

Women based in Tajikistan:
Long-term:

• Education Scholarship programmes need to be increased for girls from Afghanistan living in the region, especially in countries like Tajikistan, since it was easier for girls to travel from Afghanistan to these countries.

Immediate:

• A network of women from Afghanistan residing in these countries needs to be created and properly supported. The network will work with the CSOs in the respective Central and South Asian countries to influence Taliban policies through their governments.
• Afghan women need a political office under the auspices of the international community to help build a peaceful narrative created and led by them with support from international community.

In terms of next steps, more regional dialogues are planned to take place this year and the WFA (in collaboration with a main women-led platform) is due to hold a major event, the All Women Summit, with the aim to create unity among women and identify key action points for a women-centric peaceful narrative for Afghanistan.
BACKGROUND ON WOMEN FOR AFGHANISTAN
Women for Afghanistan (WFA) is a non-profit organisation established in Geneva, Switzerland. Over the past 18 months, WFA has created an Afghan women-led platform focused on dialogues and unity building among women of Afghanistan.
It is imperative that women of Afghanistan and civil society not only participate in all fora impacting Afghanistan’s future, but also create and lead a narrative through a meaningful and consistent participation in diverse political and decision-making platforms and processes.
Early engagement in peaceful settlement and a strategic pathway is not only necessary to ensure their full and meaningful participation but also to foster trust in an already fragmented political landscape in Afghanistan. Prioritising women’s and human rights provides a solid foundation for a constructive political dialogue that addresses the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders involved, including men and boys.
The aim is for all dialogues to work with and be mindful of the international community’s efforts for Afghanistan and to this end, WFA regularly keeps the UN and donor community apprised of its efforts, not least from its Geneva base.

The WPHF Rapid Response Window
This initiative is funded by the Rapid Response Window (RRW) of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), a funding mechanism that addresses urgent funding gaps with targeted, short-term support to increase women’s participation in peace processes and the implementation of peace agreements. WPHF is a flexible financing tool supporting quality interventions to enhance the capacity of local women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities.