UNITED NATIONS -- An Afghan woman urged the U.N. Security Council to ensure that the war-battered country's women are included in any peace negotiations, despite the second-class status they hold under the Taliban regime.
"Do not think that because women wear a veil we do not have a voice," said Jamila, who heads an organization that helps Afghan refugee women in Pakistan. "When the U.N. is looking for leaders, look to us."
On the first anniversary of a U.N. resolution that committed governments to include women at peace tables while protecting them from the abuses of war, Jamila joined women from Kosovo and East Timor in urging the council to keep its promises.
"I have often heard that Afghan women are not political. That peace and security is man's work. I am here to challenge that illusion," Jamila told council members at a closed meeting on Tuesday. "For the last 20 years of my life, the leadership of men has only brought war and suffering."
The women's statements were released at a press conference after Tuesday's meeting. Council members approved a statement Wednesday calling for stepped up implementation of the resolution.
The council reaffirmed "its strong support for increasing the role of women in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution," according to the statement. It also renewed "its call on states to include women in the negotiations and implementation of peace accords, constitutions and strategies for resettlement and rebuilding."
Jamila, who uses one name, said the timing of the council meeting was particularly important given the current discussions on the future of Afghanistan.
Last week, she and other Afghan women sought the support of Lakdhar Brahimi, the U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan. Brahimi is currently in Pakistan, as part of an international effort to ensure that any future government of Afghanistan represents all ethnic groups.
Jamila strongly opposes the ruling Taliban militia, which controls 95 percent of Afghanistan and imposes a harsh brand of Islam, especially on girls and women. It prohibits women from working outside the home, bans schooling for girls over the age of 8 and requires all women to be shrouded in a burqa from head to toe.
The Taliban - they are extremist elements,'' Jamila said. They are not acceptable for Afghan women. We want a government which is acceptable for the people of Afghanistan (where) women should have equal rights.''
Noeleen Heyzer, head of the U.N. Development Fund for Women that was the moving force behind last year's resolution, said ``the Security Council is extremely interested in having the issue of women in Afghanistan addressed.''
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, however, Heyzer said, ``we have yet to hear women's voices in the political debates on terrorism and conflict, on Afghanistan, on the refugee crisis, on the way forward.''
Jamila said Afghanistan can be a model for the Security Council resolution if women take part in peace negotiations and are consulted on refugee issues.
Women and girls represent 54 percent of the Afghan population, she noted. Women served as government ministers in the 1960s and by 1970 were taking part in grand councils known as loya jirga - traditional gatherings of elders.
We remember a time when women were doctors, lawyers and judges,'' Jamila said. Women must be included in any peace-building efforts to ensure peace and lasting security. ... We are the role models for our youth; we are working for security and peace.''
