Displaying Posts Tagged ‘women’s rights’

Today is International Women’s Day: Time to Take Stock Again

Connie K. Duckworth / March 8th, 2011 / posted in afghan women, events, social change / 3 comments

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.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

Update from State

Connie K. Duckworth / October 28th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, events, social change, social entrepreneur / no comments

Last Friday afternoon, Melanne Verveer, Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, convened a meeting of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington, DC. I am honored to have been a member of this bi-partisan delegation since its inception in 2002. This is a group that is keenly interested in understanding the Administration’s position on protecting the hard-won rights of women in Afghanistan. Despite her hectic schedule due to the presence of the Pakistani diplomatic delegation in the building, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, USAWC’s Honorary Chairperson, joined the meeting to address our shared concerns head-on.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

Women’s Rights and Talib, The Night Visitor

Connie K. Duckworth / October 19th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, events, social change, social responsibility / no comments

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 women’s rights.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

From the Past to the Future: Equality for Women

admin / August 26th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, events, social responsibility / no comments

From the ARZU STUDIO HOPE staff…

Today is Women’s Equality Day – commemorating the passing of the 19th Amendment in the United States as well as the continued efforts to bring full equality for women worldwide.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

Afghan Women’s Rights Are Non-negotiable. Full Stop.

Connie K. Duckworth / July 15th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, afghanistan women, economic sustainability, opportunity / no comments

Washington’s trial balloon of “reintegrating” the Taliban raises red flags for those of us working to help Afghan women keep their seat at the table in the “new Afghanistan.” We’re worried that women will get traded away when the final deal gets cut, and we know this would be a disastrous mistake.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

Forced Marriage: A Crime Against Humanity

Connie K. Duckworth / June 1st, 2010 / posted in afghan women, opportunity, social change, social responsibility / no comments

Memorial Day’s New York Times article entitled “Afghan Child Brides Escape Marriage, but Not Lashes” is a graphic reminder of what’s at stake for girls and women in Afghanistan today. This is 2010 and the laws of civil society are supposed to now govern this country.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment

Like Labor Day with Flowers

Connie K. Duckworth / March 8th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, afghanistan families, afghanistan people, afghanistan women, economic sustainability, events, people, social change, social programs / 2 comments

Happy International Women’s Day. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re certainly not alone. But, it’s a real holiday, not one invented by Hallmark. While not as well known in the U.S., IWD actually started here 100 years ago, when textile workers in New York called a strike to condemn child labor, demand safer working conditions, and push for women’s right to vote. It spread globally.

Tags:
Continue Reading This Article / Leave a Comment