In March 2020, the Network Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has enthusiastically approved the creation of three new national networks in Afghanistan, Kenya and Thailand. With these latest additions, SDSN’s networks program now boasts 37 national and regional network across the globe.
For SDSN Afghanistan, Kateb University has been appointed as host of the SDSN National Network under the umbrella of the global SDSN.
In Kenya, both Moi University and the University if Nairobi will jointly host the national chapter. In Thailand, Thammasat University, Chulalogkorn University and the National Science and Technology Development Agency have agreed to co-host SDSN Thailand.
Launch events for all three networks, as well as their respective national priorities, will soon be communicated.
SDSN Afghanistan participants in SDSN’s 24h Webinar
On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, SDSN initiated a 24 Hour Webinar for the purpose of engaging experts and community leaders on how sustainable development initiatives across the globe are creating more just and prosperous societies.
SDSN Afghanistan, hosted by Kateb University, participated in this webinar held on 22nd April, 2020 by putting together a one-hour Panel Discussion on ‘Afghanistan Peace Process: Role of Women – Opportunities and Challenges’.
Around 100 national and international audiences participate in the session held by SDSN Afghanistan. They were also given the opportunities to ask question and respond to a poll.
71% of the attendees and participants said that the aftermath of the peace deal with Taliban will undermine the status and rights of women in Afghanistan.
Speakers:
The speakers in the panel discussion were Ms. Jamila Afghanis, Ms. Zarqa Yaftali, Ms. Fiona Gall and Dr. Mohammad Musa Jafari, Discussing the Afghan Government’s stance on the role of women in the peace process, human rights and gender equality, as well as the role of CSOs in the peace process in Afghanistan with a special focus on women, and the relation between international institutions and Afghanistan’s Peace Process.
1. Ms. Jamila Afghani
Ms. Jamila is leading Medica Afghanistan which is a women support organization. At the same time, she is a lead volunteer at Women International League for peace and freedom _Afghanistan section since 2015. She is also a member of WILPF’s international board representing South Asian countries. Ms. Jamila has been engaged on UN advocacy issue since 2017, especially UPR, CEDAW, CRS and UNCRPD by development of advocacy briefings, presentations and shadow reports. Consequently, she has been actively engaged on the ongoing peace talk. She has participates in Doha Intra-Afghan dialogue held on June 2019. Ms. Afghani aims to raise voices of the most vulnerable Afghan women to different advocacy level and angance localization of women, peace and security agenda.
At the panel discussion, Ms. Jamila spoke about stance of the Afghan government on role of women in the peace process
Ms. Afghani stated in her speech that despite women being the most affected by the conflict, they remain as minor players in political life and the economy and sidelined in the current peace talks. She believes that Afghan women must meaningfully participate in decisions that directly affect them. Ms. Afghani stated in her speech that women have participated as members of the High Peace Council (HPC) in discussions for a peace agreement, but HPC serves only as a consultative body and aims to raise public awareness rather than a decision-making body.
Criticizing the final list of negotiators introduced by the government of Afghanistan, Ms. Afghani says that only 5 out of 25 negotiators the final list of negotiators introduced by the government of Afghanistan, Ms. Afghani says that only 5 out of 25 negotiators. The absence of women and their voices in the process she thinks casts doubt on the type of peace that these talks would bring to the country.
Finally, Ms. Afghani emphasizes that more inclusive peace process and effective gender-related provisions in any future peace agreements are important. She suggests that pushing for the inclusion of women and gender issues in the formal peace process, which is lagging and has been criticized, would be a strategy to harness not only the Taliban’s acceptance of women’s legitimate concerns but also their willingness to sustain the momentum of future intra Afghan negotiations.
2. Ms. Zarqa Yaftali
Ms. Zarqa Yaftali is the Director of Women and Children Legal Research Foundation.
At the panel discussion, Ms. Zarqa spoke on ‘Peace Process; Human Rights and Gender Equality’.
Toward the beginning of her speech, Ms. Yaftali defined the peace process in Afghanistan by stating that peace process should not mean an end of war between US and the Taliban; rather, the objective of peace process in Afghanistan should strongly consider stability, security and justice and accountable and inclusive government without compromising human rights values and women’s rights.
Ms. Zarqa further elaborates that Afghans do not want to sacrifice their freedom and civic rights for peace. She stated in her speech that any steps taken towards sustainable peace would require that justice and preservation of human rights values are ensured; otherwise, any attempt would result in failure.
In addition, Ms. Yaftali states that Afghan women hold highly of the values, rights and freedom they have achieved over the past two decades; therefore, Taliban’s restrictive views on freedom, employment and education of women must not compromise these achievements.
Finally, Ms. Zarqa suggested in her speech that a mechanism of oversight needs to be established in order to monitor human rights values and women’s rights practices post peace agreement with the Taliban.
3. Ms. Fiona Gall
Ms. Fiona Gall is the director of ACBAR, one of the most searched jobs seeking website in the country. She has more than 20 years of experience in humanitarian and development programs in Asia specially Afghanistan, India and Pakistan and more recently in Africa in emergency relief and rehabilitation, health, disability and gender in challenging environments.
Ms. Gall spoke on role of CSOs in the peace process with special focus on women.
In her presentation, Ms. Fiona began by stating that over 2600 Civil Society Organizations and 2500 NGOs have been registered in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. Out of the 30,000 staff off of 152 member NGOs with ACBAR 25% are women. Out of 80 local NGOs, 22% are led by women. Ms. Gall affirms that women have started to play increasingly strong roles within Afghan societies and the government. Based on her presentation, most promising thing is that women account for 24% of civil servants, 28% of parliamentarians, 30% of teachers and at least 1 woman works in 74% of the health facilities.
Ms. Fiona appreciated CSOs for having filled the gaps in government services and met the humanitarian needs admitting the slow development. She reasoned that in a conflict situation, efforts made in one year of war are equal to efforts made in 20 years of peace. Ms. Fiona is hopeful that growing understanding of the Afghan population about the world around them will ensure women’s presence and importance in the peace negotiations. Also, Ms. Gall strongly believes that the solution to the future of Afghanistan is Afghan women.
4. Dr. Mohammad Jafari
Dr. Jafari is the current Vice Chancellor of Kateb University for Academy Affairs. He is also Chief Editor at Kateb Quarterly Journal and Editorial Board Member at Negah-e-Moaser and Pejuhan Scientific Quarterly Journal.
Dr. Jafari spoke about ‘International Institutions and Afghanistan’s Peace Process’.
Dr. Musa’s main point of discussion revolved around the fact that a comprehensive peace process agenda requires inclusiveness and international community’s support in order to have a strong voice against Taliban in peace negotiations. Dr. Jafari further stated in his speech that the success of peace process in Afghanistan will be a great achievement for international order; therefore, international actors have a vital role to play.
Rationalizing his stance, he added that the weakness of Afghanistan government would be dangerous in the peace negotiations with the Taliban. One country and two presidents explain the extreme political crisis. On the other hand, widespread corruption, poverty, unemployment and insecurity have undermined the legitimacy of government. Under this circumstance, Dr. Jafari questions the distinguished achievements of the government in negotiation with the Taliban. How could a failed state persuade Taliban to accept the current democratic political system? Dr. Jafari strongly believes that we need the support of international institutions to guarantee our pluralistic democratic values in peace negotiations.
As a final note, Dr. Jafari stated in his speech that peace process must be supported in the context of ensuring the political, social, economic and cultural rights for all Afghans.
SDSN Afghanistan host Kateb University participated in the 5th meeting of the executive committee for the year 2019 on September 3, 2019 and presented the specific outcomes the conference related to “Role of Universities in attaining the SDGs in Afghanistan”. Further, Kateb University proposed that the universities’ working groups should be established to help the government of Afghanistan and SDGs’ stakeholders in better implementation of the SDGs. The committee members approved the proposal and assigned Kateb University to work on the Working Group ToR and take the lead of the working group for the year 2020.
Objectives:
As per the conference outcomes and the SDSN Guise for University to get Starter with SDGs, the working group 5 will work to pursue the following objectives:
Scope of work
According to the SDSN Guide for Universities, universities can contribute to the implementation of the SDGs in four specific areas. Below are the specific areas, which the SDGs working group 5 will focus on to help SDGs stakeholders better implement the SDGs:
Education (Teaching and Learning)
Research and Development
External Leadership
Operation and Governance
Policy Analysis and Need Assessment (Higher Education Policy)
The event was supported by the national Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and was co-organized in partnership with national and international development organizations and key stakeholders working on the SDGs in the country. As author of the “Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities” guide, Dr. Tahl Kestin from SDSN Australia, NZ & Pacific, tuned in to deliver a speech on this important field of work.
This first-ever conference on the SDGs in Afghanistan brought together universities and other stakeholders to discuss the impact of tertiary education institutions on the achievement of Agenda 2030 in the country. The major expected outcomes were:
Other key takeaways from the conference include:
On August 29, SDSN Member Kateb University is organizing a conference on “The Role of Universities in Implementation of the SDGs in Afghanistan”. The event seeks to highlight challenges and potential solutions for achieving the SDGs in Afghanistan, focusing specifically on the role universities play in SDG implementation.
The one-day conference will happen in Kabul, Afghanistan, and boasts high-level participation from the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, UNDP, and others. Academic experts from SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific, University of Hamburg, ETH Switzerland, SOAS University of London, and others, will share their ideas and experiences with the participants. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of SDSN, will speak to the current context of SDG implementation in Afghanistan and highlight its challenges and opportunities for the country.
The SDSN is proudly supporting this event, together with Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), Ministry of Economy of Afghanistan (MoE), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Monash Institute of Development Studies.
As a result of the conference, Kateb University aims to enhance the overall understanding on the SDGs and its status quo in Afghanistan, create partnerships among universities to advance SDG implementation in the areas of education, research, creation and dissemination of knowledge; and explore partnership opportunities between universities and other stakeholders by offering synergies to accomplish the SDGs in Afghanistan.
To learn more about the speakers and the agenda, visit the full website of this conference here
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