By Paula D. Thomson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Afghan women must be included in deciding the future of Afghanistan, said Belquis Ahmadi, an Afghan American activist with the International Human Rights Law Group and founder of the Afghan Women's Network.

"For the last 20 years, the majority of [Afghan] men have been engaged in war," Ahmadi said in an interview with the Washington File. "Women can bring the element of peace to the future of Afghanistan. It was because of Afghan women that the fabric of Afghan society was kept alive. For example, when the Taliban decided to close down the schools, Afghan women took the initiative to educate girls in their homes. It was the initiative of Afghan women to organize and raise awareness of women's rights in Islam."

Born and educated in Kabul, Ahmadi manages a program to increase the legal awareness of Afghan refugee women living in Pakistan. Excluding women from the decision-making process not only deprives women of their political rights, Ahmadi said, but also degrades them as human beings.

Ahmadi described the significant role women played in Afghan society prior to the Taliban's takeover in 1996. "Women could go to school, further their education, women were ministers and members of the Loya Jirga (Afghanistan's highest legislative and decision-making body). Women were professors and deans in universities," Ahmadi said.

She recalled that when she was studying in Kabul, both the ministers of education and health were women and more than 7
0 percent of the teachers in Afghanistan were women. In 1977, women composed over 15 percent of the members of the Loya Jirga, she noted.

Ahmadi herself played an active role in Kabul, first working with the International Committee of the Red Cross as a translator, serving as a nurse during the Afghan wars, and then acting as a liaison between warring factions. She also worked as a manager for Care International and the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), a private organization with offices in Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad.

Even as most of her relatives and friends left Afghanistan as the situation worsened between 1992 and 1996, Ahmadi stayed. "I wanted to be there because I wanted to bring a change and I wanted to do something for my people. But when the Taliban came, they took that opportunity, that ability from me," she said.

Ahmadi described how restrictions were placed on the movement of women both in public and in the home after the Taliban assumed power. Television, books, games, and music were all forbidden. "I was imprisoned inside my own home," Ahmadi said.

Ahmadi said one of her friends was even beaten to death because his 14-year-old daughter was seen from the street while cleaning the windows of the apartment. The Taliban had ordered people to paint their windows so that women could not be seen from the outside.

Realizing she could no longer bring about change under the Taliban regime, Ahmadi left for Pakistan in 1996 and formed the Afghan Women's Network to unite Afghan women working in NGOs, the United Nations, the government, and other professions. The goal of the Afghan Women's Network was to promote the inclusion of women in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. The organization now has more than 450 members in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ahmadi currently works for the International Human Rights Law Group, a non-profit organization composed of human rights and legal professionals working to promote human rights and legal awareness around the world. She manages the Law Group's legal awareness project for Afghan refugee women living in Pakistan. By building networks and mentoring relationships between Afghan and Pakistani women, Ahmadi hopes to empower women and increase their access to information about legal rights and avenues of redress when their rights are violated.

"Women should be treated as equal citizens of Afghanistan," she said.

Ahmadi said that one of the challenges that the Law Group faces is combating religious extremism and addressing violations carried out in the name of culture. Ahmadi said this is a problem not only in Afghanistan, but also throughout the region.

Regarding the recent U.N. talks in Bonn, Germany, Ahmadi said she "personally appreciates" the efforts that were made to include women in these talks, but she believed that more women should have been included. "We want Afghan women to be included so they can bring up the special needs of women," such as education, healthcare, and employment, particularly in rural areas, she said.

Ahmadi said that she hopes the United States will not abandon Afghanistan as it did following the defeat of the Soviets. She stressed that the priorities of the international community should be establishing security, disarming the population, and bringing to justice those who have committed crimes against humanity. In addition, she noted that the international community should be prepared for the possibility of fighting amongst factions, "especially in the cities," and that peacekeepers will be needed to ensure stability. The people of Afghanistan need time to establish a civil society before selecting a leader, she said.

Although Ahmadi noted that there are differences of opinion among Afghan women -- some support the Northern Alliance, other military factions, and even the Taliban -- she welcomes the diversity of views.

"We want democracy and we want people to express what they want, their different ideas. There's no harm in having different views," she said.

The important thing is that we are united in defending the human rights of women and respect and dignity for women, she said.