Solidarity
Join us raising awareness and calling for action from the international community in protecting the rights of Afghan women and bringing about a true ceasefire in Afghanistan. Together, we will stand in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and send a strong message that Canadians care about security, women’s futures and human rights in the country.
Urgent: Ensure Afghan women’s rights alongside peace with the Taliban. Please sign this petition.
NEW! Check out our Advocacy Toolkit to get started.
View and share our short video advocating for the protection of women’s human rights, including the right to education.
Use our letter template to prepare a letter or email to send to your Federal MP. Search for your local MP. If you know your MP’s name, you can use this format: firstname.lastname@parl.gc.ca
Template letters that are personalized by the sender are more likely to be read and can achieve a bigger impact, so feel free to personalize and adapt this template.
If you are sending an email, please blind copy community@cw4wafghan.ca. This will help us track the impact of our campaign.
Campaign
Share our templates and messages with your friends, family, contacts in your network, and local media.
Post on social media. Use the hashtags #CeasefireNow #NeverGoBack #EducationIsARight
Remember to tag us @CW4WAfghan (on Facebook an Twitter)/ @cw4wafghanistan (on Instagram)!
Advocate Now on Behalf of Women’s Rights
Resources
Sign and share this petition created by WLUML calling for a ceasefire and protections of Afghan women’s rights.
Read and share the open letters written by other women’s advocacy organizations:
From Afghan Women’s Network
Letter in protest of US Special Representative for Afghan Peace sidelining women, March 2021
Statement on Afghan Women’s Vision for Ceasefire, January 2021
From international solidarity network Women Living Under Muslim Law
Statement on the Assissination of Two Female Supreme Court Judges
From the Afghan advocacy network, Our Voices, Our Future:
An Open Letter to President Biden, Our Voices, Our Future, January 2021
An Open Letter to European Union Leaders, Our Voices, Our Future, October 2020
An Open Letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Our Voices, Our Future, October 2020
An Open Letter from World Leaders Calling for Afghan Women’s Meaningful Participation in the Peace Process, September 2020
An Open Letter to Our Allies, Our Voices, Our Future, September 2020
An Open Letter to the Taliban, Our Voices, Our Future, August 2020
From South Asian Women’s Community Centre:
Statement of Solidarity with Women of Afghanistan on Eve of International Women’s Day, March 2021
Without a Ceasefire, Peace Talks for Afghanistan Are a Sham, by Lauryn Oates, The Calgary Herald, November 23, 2020
Access to Education is Fundamental to the Protection of Afghan Women’s Rights, by Murwarid Ziayee and Sarah Keeler, Ms. Magazine, September 1, 2020
Afghans Know What a Desirable Peace Looks Like, and It’s One Where Rights Truly Exist, by Murwarid Ziayee, Medium, April 16, 2020
US-Taliban agreement leaves Afghan women in jeopardy, by Nadia Hashimi, The Hill, March 14, 2020
Peace with the Taliban comes at the expense of Afghanistan’s women, by Sally Armstrong, The Globe & Mail, March 6, 2020
Afghan women will reject Taliban rule: First Lady, by Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, November 2019
What the Taliban are telling themselves about war and peace, Christian Science Monitor, September 2019
Without Afghan Women, There Can Be No Peace, Feminist Majority Foundation statement, September 2019
Trump’s Taliban peace talks have collapsed. But many Afghans aren’t surprised — or sad, By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, NBC News, September 2019
Yes, the Taliban has changed — it’s gotten much better at PR, By Tanya Goudsouzian, The Washington Post, August 2019
Afghans Want the Right Peace Deal, Not Just an End to Violence, By Belquis Ahmadi, US Institute for Peace, August 2019
The Taliban Promise to Protect Women. Here’s Why Women Don’t Believe Them, By Cora Engelbrecht, The New York Times, July 2019
Female delegates during the opening ceremony of the Grand Assembly, April 29, 2019. An expected agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban to smooth future negotiations raises concerns that women may lose some freedoms. (Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times)
Never Go Back: Our Position on Negotiations With the Taliban (2020), Summary of CW4WAfghan Position on Taliban Negotiations, March 2020
What Will Peace Talks Bode for Afghan Women? Briefing Note, International Crisis Group, April 2020
A Call to Commit to the Protection of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan (2019), Joint Statement on Taliban Negotiations from Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan) and Women for Afghan Women (WAW)
#MyRedLine: a grassroots movement in Afghanistan that uses social media to communicate the voices of Afghan concerns and recommendations for a sustainable peace. Read their July Report.
Fragility and Making Peace: Rights of Afghan Women and Peace With the Taliban, Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO), May 2019
Policy Brief: Rights of Afghan Women and Peace Negotiations, APPRO, May 2019
Briefing: Short History of Peace Negotiations with Taliban, APPRO, April 2019