All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.

- Albert Einstein

As I began to reflect over the weekend about the meaning of today’s global holiday, celebrating the achievements, rights and worth of women, my thoughts took a flight of fancy to a world (if not run by women) where women had an equal say in all things, large and small.  Then, I opened the newspaper and was jerked back to reality.

Sunday’s Washington Post article, “In Afghanistan, U.S. shifts strategy on women’s rights as it eyes wider priorities” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, highlights how quickly seemingly solid forward progress for women in Afghanistan can evaporate due to exogenous factors completely outside of their control.  And, control in any realm really is the issue, isn’t it?

This particular case in point relates to land rights (to inherit, obtain and transfer land) and the requirement that a certain minimum number of deeds be granted to Afghan women.  Since land is the base of power and wealth in both agrarian and urban settings, deeds are an indicator of control.  No land ownership, no power, no wealth…no control.

Chandrasekaran quotes an official at USAID on this matter, “If you’re targeting an issue, you need to target it in a way you can achieve those objectives.  The women’s issue is one where we need hardheaded realism. There are things we can do, and do well. But if we become unrealistic and over focused . . . we get ourselves in trouble.”

Said differently: If you have to dumb down a program in order to show results when you execute, it’s okay to cut out the women. As the article continues, the line of reasoning deteriorates from there, with a quote from a different official speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“Gender issues are going to have to take a back seat to other priorities. There’s no way we can be successful if we maintain every special interest and pet project. All those pet rocks in our rucksack were taking us down.” I’m sure the women of Afghanistan appreciate being blamed for USAID’s failed development strategies.  As a woman and an American taxpayer, I am incensed by the comparison.

Women’s advocates here and abroad have been worrying about if (or when) the Karzai government would begin trading away women’s rights.  As I said in my July 15, 2010 posting entitled “Afghan Women’s Rights are non-negotiable. Full Stop”:

We’re worried that women will get traded away when the final deal (with the Taliban) gets cut, and we know this would be a disastrous mistake.

Since then, Karzai has continued to weaken women’s rights.  One example is the controversial rule barring private safe houses for victims of domestic abuse which puts shelters funded by the international community under direct Afghan government control and permits the country’s few public shelters (totaling 14 nationwide in a country with 34 provinces and massive need) to force women to return to their abusive situations.

However, hope is not lost. Thankfully, both Afghan women and the American taxpayer have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a passionate advocate of women’s rights, standing for us.  Like in ice hockey, she’s our “enforcer.”

As I said in my October 28, posting “Update from State,” Secretary Clinton “stated unequivocally that the rights of Afghan women would be protected in any reconciliation deal and that the option of returning women to “the dark years” of oppression under the Taliban is unacceptable. She underscored that the full integration of women into civil society is critical to the ultimate success of Afghanistan as a country.”

So today of all days, let’s each take a minute to remember the call to action inspired by International Women’s Day:  to reflect on progress made by women; to call for change; and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who on a daily basis plan an extraordinary role in the advancement of women’s rights.

Go Afghan women; go Hillary; go girls everywhere, go.

Two women in ARZU's program in the Women's Community Center tea room during Founder & CEO Connie K. Duckworth's visit to Afghanistan, June 2010.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

- Albert Einstein

“Systems thinking” is about understanding how individual component parts influence each other within a whole framework. In a science lab, for example, systems thinking can be easily observed when small amounts of a catalyst create big chemical reactions.

This kind of thought process is equally applicable to the realm of international development and reconstruction. Without knowing the technical term, ARZU has used a systems thinking framework since 2004. Our approach to sustainable community development rests on the three-legged stool of income, education, and basic healthcare—needs that are interrelated.  Three legs make for stable seating. Add a fourth leg, like clean water, and you’ve got long-term comfort.

Traditional international development is not based on systems thinking. Rather, it tends to focus on solving a single problem at a time, typically without cultural context. Try perching on a one-legged camp chair. While it may provide a temporary alternative to standing, it’s a pretty wobbly short-term solution.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story over the weekend about the U.S. military’s plan to expand tenfold the Afghan Local Police to compensate for the absence of the regular Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police in rural areas. The idea is that U.S. Special Forces will train “lightly armed” village units to both help keep the Taliban at bay and gather intelligence locally.

This interesting new approach takes advantage of traditional tribal structures and empowers tribal elders. With some tweaking and a bit more systems thinking, the ALP might actually work, in sharp contrast to the ANA and ANP, which are ineffective, riddled with corruption and drug use, and cost the U.S. taxpayer more than $10 billion/year. (According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the fiscal 2011 budget is actually $11.6 billion.)

So why does the Afghan military so badly underperform? According to the DOD, 86% of the roughly 250,000 soldiers and police can’t read or write. The colonel with direct oversight over that $11.6 billion training budget says that literacy “will continue to be a challenge especially as we’re now going to start building those enablers like logistics, communications, engineers.” Theses skills happen to be critical to ever effecting a successful transition which will allow the troop drawdown, currently planned to begin in July 2011. “It’s hard to teach somebody logistics and to do inventory control, if they don’t know how to read. If you want to be a policeman and you know they can’t even write down a license plate because they don’t know what numbers are – and so we have to overcome that challenge.”

To address the enormity of this problem, a literacy program has been rolled out for the eight weeks of basic training at some, but not all, locations, with the stated purpose “to bring an Afghan soldier and police up to a third-grade level, which is considered kind of basic literacy – you can write your name, you can write and read numbers. You can do some basic reading.” Clearly, nobody can become competently literate in eight weeks. Systems thinking this is not.

ARZU offers fair wage jobs to women in exchange for a commitment that they attend literacy classes two hours/day, six days a week, on an ongoing basis. Outcomes tell the story of this holistic approach: ARZU weavers are now in fifth grade. They can do a lot more reading and writing and arithmetic than signing their names. Just imagine the possibilities for Afghanistan if the same had been required of the ANA and ANP—they would have graduated junior high by now.

The current opportunity exists to transform the lives of tens of thousands of new ALP recruits, while creating a security force in Afghanistan that is actually skilled and competent. By all means give them the job, but simultaneously start them in daily mandatory literacy classes.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

“An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.”

- Albert Einstein

Everyone I know personally or professionally shares a singular perspective—how glad we are to see 2010 in the rear view mirror. The past two years, in fact, have been exhausting on every front—economically, politically, globally—and our collective fatigue level is high. It’s hard to run life unceasingly at DEFCON 2. At the same time, there’s an innate optimism that comes with flipping to the blank slate of a new calendar year. It refreshes our spirits, revives our energy, stiffens our resolve and restores our hope for positive change.

In this spirit of renewed optimism in the face of ongoing adversity, I have been trawling across the Internet in search of ideas that can translate successfully to ARZU’s work in Afghanistan. True to our core belief that the path to peace can only be found in low-tech, sustainable, local, low-cost, entrepreneurial and economically-based solutions, I am dedicating 2011 to the thoughts of Albert Einstein.

While sourcing wisdom from the uber rocket scientist of all time for work in a warzone with no power grid may seem somewhat incongruous, Einstein’s genius lies in his talent to translate complex ideas into simple, easily understandable truths. It is this ability to pare the superfluous from the essential that so directly and brilliantly applies to any solution that has a prayer of actually working on the ground in Afghanistan. Each STIR blog posting in 2011 will be thus inspired, starting with today.

I believe that all global conflict is based in economics, irrespective of how it gets packaged by politicians, pundits or priests. When we peel back the layers of causality, we find that what, at first blush, looks like nationalism, religion, culture, race, or ideology, is actually a point of view about scarcity or abundance of resources. Typically, someone who sees himself holding the short-end of the stick wants to correct that situation and believes the end (war) justifies the means.

Scientists believe that humans share 99.99999% of the same genes. That 1/100,000^th percentile difference is all that physically differentiates the seven billion of us sharing planet Earth. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs makes the same point about how we, as people, behave. The first and most basic needs are physiological: oxygen, food, water and relatively constant body temperature. These basic needs are the strongest forces controlling people’s thoughts and behaviors, until they are satisfactorily met. If deprived of these essentials, a person will first seek to obtain them, even before feeling, let alone working, to meet Maslow’s second level of need: safety.

Only when the basic necessities of life—food, clean water, shelter, clothing—are available can people rationally turn their attention to the second most important human need: a violence-free environment. Until then, what we get is war, whether in Helmand Province or in West Chicago.

ARZU’s perspective from day one has been that in pre, current and post-conflict zones, poverty alleviation by creating grassroots economic activity is the first step in driving peace. It all starts with a job; the rest comes later. “It’s the economy, stupid.” Clichés exist for a reason. They happen to be true.

A woman in ARZU's program weaves a rug at the loom. July 2010. Photo courtesy of Sgt. Heidi Agostini.

An Afghan women weaving a Peace Cord bracelet

I’ve been running somewhat silent on STIR blog these past two months due to a particularly high level of activity across all fronts in Afghanistan that’s kept me running full throttle. There’s much to catch up on.

First and foremost, I am delighted to announce the launch of Peace Cord™, a new artisan “product with purpose” available now in time for the holidays, selling online for $10 and $15, and providing 150 additional jobs for women in rural Afghanistan.

Peace Cord™ bracelets are hand-woven by women in Afghanistan from parachute cord and closed with military uniform buttons. Wearing these cool accessories are an easily, accessible way for Americans of all ages to directly help two missions which promote a more peaceful Afghanistan. 100% of all proceeds go to support the programs of ARZU STUDIO HOPE and Spirit of America.

Peace Cord™ directly benefits the missions of these two grassroots non-profit organizations: the empowerment of Afghan women to lift their families out of poverty through private sector employment, and the support for our troops on the ground who bring much needed assistance to the poorest communities in Afghanistan. Both missions create the preconditions for peace. Peace means a safer, more secure future for us all.

The idea for Peace Cord™ was a direct outcome of my trip to Helmand Province in June with the Marines. Commanding General Richard Mills and his officers challenged me to identify new opportunities to create jobs for women. It was a daunting assignment.

On our final day outside the wire, I noticed a cool bracelet on the arm of a Danish officer. Though he was reluctant to remove his lucky talisman, someone else offered up a similar model woven out of bootlaces, and a new product idea was hatched.

Models of the Peace Cord bracelets available to order (http://peacecord.org)

“Nothing goes right the first time in Afghanistan” is one of ARZU’s central operating principles. It encapsulates the degree of difficulty in effectively executing on the ground in a conflict zone, the necessity for innovation and the absolute requirement for flexibility, testing and tweaking in order to achieve a success outcome. Nothing is easy in Afghanistan, no matter how simple it may seem at the outset.

After six years of producing award-winning, high-end rugs in a decentralized cottage industry rural setting, we assumed weaving a simple, well-made bracelet would be easy. And, actually, identifying and training talented, hard working, eager women was easy. It turned out that everything else was hard. As we’ve learned from experience, you must always be ready with at least a Plan B.

From everyone at ARZU, Happy Veterans Day to all of our brave men and women!

Left to right: Maj Nina D'Amato, Connie K. Duckworth, and Col Glenn Morris stand in front of Bamyan Ancient City in Afghanistan, June 2010. Photo courtesy of Sgt. Heidi Agostini.

Secretary Clinton stated unequivocally that the rights of Afghan women would be protected in any reconciliation deal and that the option of returning women to “the dark years” of oppression under the Taliban is unacceptable. She underscored that the full integration of women into civil society is critical to the ultimate success of Afghanistan as a country and specifically sited the positive impact of the Council’s many diverse programs in working toward that goal. Former First Lady (and previous Honorary Council Chairperson) Laura Bush joined the meeting by teleconference and also stressed the importance of continuing to support Afghan women in her remarks.

Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, then addressed the group and, in particular, solicited the views of two Afghan businesswomen in attendance. Both are recent graduates of Goldman Sachs’ “10,000 Women”, a program that trains women entrepreneurs in developing countries around the world in conjunction with local universities and current Project Artemis scholars. Arizona businesswoman Barbara Barrett, another early USAWC member who also serves a trustee of Thunderbird University, founded Artemis. Both Afghan women have founded and now run successful businesses that together employ about 100 other women.  In addressing Ambassador Holbrooke’s question, each confirmed her ongoing concern about the potential consequences of the Taliban return to power.

In the remaining time, Ambassador Verveer asked members to update the Council on each of our respective programs. Of particular interest was the report by Rebecca Grossman, Chair of the Grossman Burn Foundation in Southern California. Who can forget the devastating photograph on the cover of Time magazine of Aisha, the 18-year-old Afghan woman, who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws? Sponsored by the Grossman Burn Foundation, Aisha is now in the U.S. for reconstructive surgery.

I was pleased to report that, thanks to the five new small business initiatives launched over the summer at our Bamyan Women’s Center and Garden Center, ARZU has now created 200 additional jobs for destitute, rural Afghan women, bringing our total to 1,000.

ARZU Founder & CEO Connie K. Duckworth (front middle in brown suit) with the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council during her first trip to Afghanistan in 2003.

Women walk down the street in Kabul with their children

The reconciliation process with the Taliban got underway in earnest last week when senior Taliban leaders were secretly allowed into Kabul to meet with President Karzai and his advisors. These are the kind of guys who, if not for the white flag extended to them, might otherwise have a drone on their tails.

There have been two immutable conditions for such talks: 1) agreement by the Taliban to recognize Afghanistan as a democracy, and 2) women’s rights. But this week, we’re starting to see language shift around the first point–that the Afghan Constitution, hammered out and proudly ratified by the Grand Loya Jirga in December of 2003, already has proper mechanisms in place to sufficiently ensure democratic principles. What is glaring is the silence on afghan women’s rights.

Activists, both Afghan and American, have expressed concern from the outset that Afghanistan women’s rights would get traded away in this process. After all, how many women will be sitting in the back room when the final deal gets cut? The Constitution guarantees that 25% of the seats in Parliament be held by women. Which women does President Karzai have on his reconciliation team? How many did the Taliban bring to the meeting?

It’s important to remember that earlier this year Karzai himself, signed the law legalizing marital rape. The Taliban never stopped brutalizing the Pashtun women living in its areas of control. Think child marriage, stoning, trading girls to settle debts, denying freedom of movement and access to education. The long list goes on, particularly as it relates to protection from abusive husbands.

Are we to believe that somehow, once Taliban leaders reconcile their way back into positions of national authority, they won’t try to extend their policies of abuse more broadly? It’s instructive to look at the math of gender and ethnicity to guess how many Afghans want to see life governed once again by Taliban social mores.  Here’s a back of envelope calculation:

True, the Taliban are Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group at about 4o%.  But, that means the other 60% are probably “No’s.”  Since half of all Afghans are women, I’d switch half the Pashtun block to the “No” vote as well.  Now we’re up to 80%. One might reasonably argue that not every Pashtun man is a Talib (some number certainly must want to dance at their sons’ weddings if music weren’t banned), so let’s cut the Pashtun “Yes” votes in half. By this calculation, 90% of Afghans would not want to see the Taliban back in power.

Now, back to the reality of what such a governance change means. Last week while the meetings were happening, the Taliban came for the first time to a village where we have run women’s literacy classes for the past five years and where families send their girls in school. They entered the mosque at night, their preferred time for intimidation, and told the village men that anyone allowing his wives or daughters to go to class would be killed.  Not one female went to school the next day. Families are now, rightly, laying low to see what shakes out.

This week, Secretary Clinton has invited members of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council to the State Department for a dialogue about Afghanistan. I’m sure I won’t be the only one asking how afghan women’s rights will be safeguarded during the reconciliation process.

I have twice had the pleasure of “officially” spending time with this group of amazing and dedicated young women, as well as sharing some spontaneous moments with FET members. I first met members of the FET when I was invited by General Mills to visit Camp Pendleton in March to share some insights ARZU has learned from working with rural Afghan women. I came away impressed. These soldiers (and, coincidentally, their male colleagues) were clear that they viewed themselves as Marines first. They just happened to be female Marines.

It was equally clear to all what a unique role the FET could play in the upcoming campaign. In a gender-segregated society, simply having women soldiers on the scene to enter houses and compounds where Afghan and girl would be present, might be an important first step in winning hearts and minds. Within days of my initial visit, the team was on a transport plane flying to Camp Leatherneck.

Gen. Mills had told me that, once the Marines cleared the area, he’d be looking for me to come in behind them to offer advice on possible ways to create jobs for Afghan women. So, I too found myself on a C-17 heading to Leatherneck for my second visit with members of FET, albeit this time at work building relationships.

When I see news footage of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets, I often wonder how I would feel to have a group like that standing in my kitchen with my kids and me. I know I’d be scared. Change this image to young women, like the ones I met, standing in my kitchen, and the perspective does change.

On my way back to the States, I had to layover at the big base in Kandahar. Since military travel happens around the clock, with some long waits for the right plane to show up and for the dust storms to die down, I had been awake for 24 hours when I crawled into a pitch black bunkroom marked “Female.” I could just make out the shapes of some other sleeping bodies.

When I woke up a few hours later, it turned out they were part of the FET, “in town” for 48 hours from six weeks out at a forward operating base, eating MRE’s and cleaning off with baby wipes instead of showers in the 130-degree heat. One was 20 and single; the other was 25 and married to another Marine deployed somewhere else in Afghanistan.

They shared their stories and showed me the bruises on their hipbones from the 50 pounds of body armor (compared to my mere 35 pounds without the weapons and the gear.) I couldn’t even lift theirs, let alone try to wear it all day. They also showed me their shopping bags and shared the news that a small bazaar was open for business on the base that afternoon, complete with beautiful purses at very good prices. I can just picture them now in my mind, returning home, with a sense of accomplishment and their new bags. Godspeed, FET.

Girls reading in an ARZU literacy class. Photo courtesy of Sgt. Heidi Agostini.

At ARZU STUDIO HOPE, our mission is to empower women weavers in Afghanistan; and by doing so, we also strive to help their families. As the saying goes, “Educate a woman and you educate a family.” ARZU believes in this statement, with education being a main priority.

Literacy courses are provided for the women in ARZU’s program, and all children under the age of 15 are required to attend school. As one of our weavers, Mahim, said of the education aspect of our program:

“Before, the men and boys didn’t care about studying or attending schools. Now ARZU is encouraging everyone. Our girls are now very happy when they find themselves sitting on chairs and studying. From the time ARZU’s help has reached the people, everyone’s eyes and ears are open.”

Women and their children being transported by car to a health clinic.

ARZU also ensures that women and their children have transportation to health clinics for regular check-ups and vaccines, as well as access to clean water. With the brutal Afghanistan winters in mind, ARZU helps families prepare for the season – including distributing heavy blankets and food reserves.

Sustainable community development projects include the newly-constructed Children’s Playground at our Community Garden in Dragon Valley, Bamyan. Now families can go to the Garden Center playground and feel secure as their children play on the swing sets, seesaws, and slides.

At ARZU STUDIO HOPE, we value this quote: “A mother is a school. Empower her; and you empower a great nation.” – Hafez Ibrahim, Egyptian poet. Mothers all over the world want the same thing for their children: safety, shelter, food and love. Though caring for our world’s children should be a daily exercise, let us make sure that this October we make extra efforts to take action. Let us ensure that the children in our global community look forward to the bright future they deserve. What are you doing to make a difference in the life of a child?

Afghan children after receiving ARZU blankets for the winter.

ARZU water filters - finished, painted and ready for distribution.

In less than two months the women have completed all fifty water filter molds. The filters are distributed to ARZU households first, and then the local community. It is important to ARZU to make clean, filtered water available for ARZU families as well as nearby populations in need.

At the end of this month, UNAMA (the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) graciously donated three ARZU water filters to the Ashiana Orphanage. The filters were installed by ARZU on September 25, 2010. These children will now have access to clean, filtered water.

Children gathered outside the Ashiana Orphanage

The rest of the filters will be distributed to public facilities including mosques, clinics, schools, and government offices for community use.

A young girl at the orphanage holds up two plastic bottles - one before filtration, and the other after filtration