WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS REACH OUT TO SECRETARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000279

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS
CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICCENT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN PGOV AF
SUBJECT: WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS REACH OUT TO SECRETARY
CLINTON


1. SUMMARY. Afghan women Parliamentarians are asking to
work with the new U.S. Administration to continue
developmental assistance programs and to protect gains made
by female politicians over the past seven years. PolOffs
have spoken with several women MPs since Secretary Clinton
took office to discuss their priorities in 2009. There is
significant agreement among women MPs that U.S. assistance to
Afghan women should focus on education, health, and providing
economic opportunities for women. MPs also seek U.S. support
on promoting the role of women in the government and
protecting rights enshrined in the Constitution. Letters
sent from MPs to Sec. Clinton are included in paragraphs 8-10.

Status of Women in Parliament
--------------


2. In 2005, voters elected 68 women to the Lower House,
some 27 percent of the total seats. In the 102-seat Upper
House, for which seats are appointed, President Karzai and
the provincial councils selected another 23 women. About a
half-dozen women received enough votes to win their seats
without the benefit of the constitutional quota system. Many
candidates entered Parliament after heroic fights against
Taliban oppression: Dr. Fatima Aziz (Kunduz) once
legendarily stared down a Taliban soldier who had entered her
emergency room to tell her to don a burqa while she was
performing surgery. Insurgent attacks against Hawa Alam
Nuristani (Nuristan) and two subsequent surgeries could not
prevent her triumphant return to Parliament in 2006.


3. A number of women MPs participate vigorously in
parliamentary debates and sit alongside male colleagues, but
few hold leadership positions despite several strong
personalities. Some have formed support groups to discuss
issues of common interest, but they then usually vote along
ethnic, not gender, lines. In contrast to many male MPs who
entered office with prior political or military backgrounds,
most women worked in health or education before joining
Parliament. Many Afghans, therefore, perceive women MPs to
be more honest and less corrupt than male MPs. International
donors have been generous with foreign study trips and
international conferences for women MPs, although those perks
have sparked male MPs' jealousy.


4. Both men and women MPs have struggled to make a
legislative impact in a young Parliament that has not yet
found its role alongside a stronger executive branch.
Instead, MPs have turned to using their positions as bully
pulpits to draw media attention to issues they care about.
Women MPs have historically concentrated on social issues,
but more are beginning to speak out on foreign policy as
civilian casualty incidents and deteriorating security draw
more attention. Most women MPs suspect President Karzai
would sacrifice hard-fought gains on women,s rights in his
pursuit of reconciliation talks with the Taliban. MPs like
Fawzia Koofi (Badakhshan) and Shukria Barakzai (Kabul) have
demanded a seat at the negotiating table.

Priorities for 2009
--------------


5. In several recent conversations with PolOffs, women
MPs have expressed uncertainty over the international
community,s long-term commitment in Afghanistan and what
that will mean for their place in the government. They fear
fundamentalists will scale back the progress made over the
past seven years without strong advocacy from the West and
more commitment from the Afghan government. As women speak
out more, MPs assess that violent incidents against women
increase and conservatives are quicker to retaliate against
strong women. Deteriorating security and personal threats
against female politicians may also reduce the number of
women interested in voting in elections and running for
elected office.


6. MP Parween Mohmand Talwas (Kuchi representative) said
women legislators are looking to March 8 (International
Women's Day) to rally support for women's rights in
Afghanistan. Women MPs hope to draw U.S. and other donor
support to a number of causes, including health clinic
construction in remote areas to improve maternal and
pediatric care, literacy programs for widows, and efforts to
promote handicraft businesses run by women entrepreneurs and
artisans. Several legislators are also working with the
Ministry of Women's Affairs and civil society groups to pass
a law increasing penalties for domestic violence against
women.
Letters to Sec. Clinton
--------------

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7. We received the following three letters from MPs in
the past week. Many more MPs have asked us to pass verbal
messages of congratulations and support to Sec. Clinton. Two
MPs told us they looked forward to working with a strong
woman who had experience serving in a male-dominated
legislature.


8. Letter from MP Fawzia Raoufi, Faryab Province:

Dear Secretary Clinton,

Congratulations on your appointment to be Secretary of State
of the United States of America. The issue to women,s rights
is one of the most important issues in Afghanistan. All
Afghan women are hopeful the United States will continue to
help our government develop Afghanistan socially,
economically and politically.

I believe our country is on the right track toward peace,
prosperity, development and democracy. As an Afghan woman and
member of the Afghan Parliament, I would like to thank the
whole world in general, and particularly the people,
government and military forces of the United States for
sacrificing their lives to help our nation live in peace
among themselves and in the region. We are seeing that every
day some positive changes are taking place in the lives of
all Afghans, especially women who in the past had been
oppressed and had no rights at all in the last 28 years.

Reshaping, rebuilding, and democratizing Afghanistan is hard
work and will take an even longer time without the help and
participation of Afghan women. We know that we have a long
journey to reach our goal. It is a tough, bumpy road ahead of
us but we will reach there with the help of our international
friends and especially the United States.

Despite recent past successes, Afghan women still need help
in different aspects of their life, specifically:

A: Preventing violence against women
B: Developing women,s literacy courses
C: Promoting Afghan women,s involvement in the private sector
D: Building more women,s health clinics
E: Offering health education courses on child care, the
environment, and other issues
F: Encouraging greater participation in elections and holding
elected office in the Parliament and other elected bodies
G: Helping women produce high-quality handicrafts for
domestic and foreign markets.

Women in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan are in great
need and they are unsure of their future. We are hopeful the
United States and international community will pay attention
to the above suggestions and continue to support us.

Congratulations again on your appointment and thank you for
your interest in Afghanistan,s women.

Sincerely,

Fawzia Raoufi
Member of the Afghan Parliament
Faryab Province


9. Letter from Rahima Jami, Herat Province:

Dear Secretary Clinton,

I am Rahima Jami, a Parliamentarian of Afghanistan,s
Parliament, member of the International Affairs Committee of
the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House),and am in charge of the
Afghanistan-American Friendship Committee. On behalf of
Afghanistan,s women, I congratulate the victory of the
Democratic Party in your presidential election. Please pass
my congratulations and best wishes to all Democrats,
President Obama, and to the people of the United States, who
are the symbol of freedom to the world.

We are happy to hear of your appointment to lead the
Department of State in Washington, D.C. and we are sure you
will manage it well. We are hopeful that you will pay
attention to the people of Afghanistan, especially to women
who face many challenges.

After the Taliban regime was overthrown by the help of the
Coalition forces, there was considerable development in the
role of women in the country and in the government, but we
still need to work hard to improve the rights of Afghan

KABUL 00000279 003 OF 003


women. I appreciate the United States for its political,
economic and military aid to Afghanistan, and we expect the
United States to continue to help us fight against women,s
discrimination throughout Afghanistan.

The best way to improve the women,s situation in Afghanistan
is to: build more schools for women and girls, construct
health clinics for women, and create more jobs in the
handicraft industry. In addition, we must support the
presence of women in government and legal positions, as those
positions will help protect women,s rights and allow more
women to pursue private sector opportunities.

I am praying for the success of the United States and
Afghanistan, and wish you much success.

Best Regards,

Rahima Jami
Member of the Afghan Parliament
Herat Province


10. Letter from Shukria Paikan Ahmady, Kunduz Province:

Dear Secretary Clinton,

I want to congratulate the peace-loving nation of the United
States on the election of its new administration under the
leadership of President Barack Obama.

I am very happy that President Obama has appointed a very
respected and decent woman as Secretary of State, and I want
to congratulate you for the important position you now
occupy. I wish you great success and am hopeful that, if
possible, we may meet some day.

I know that since your first days in office you have been
thinking about the people of Afghanistan, and Afghan women in
particular. Afghan women have enormous problems and I hope to
be able to inform you about the problems first-hand and
suggest solutions. Your support for Afghan women is crucial
to our efforts.

In conclusion, I wish you the greatest success and hope for
many achievements for your administration. I also wish you
good health and thank you in advance for your assistance.

Regards,

Shukria Paikan Ahmady
Member of the Afghan Parliament
Kunduz Province

WOOD