Participation of the Negotiating Team Members in a Two-Day Seminar on the Role and Engagement of Women in the Peace Process

Fawzia Koofi, Fatima Gailani and Sharifa Zurmati Wardak, members of the negotiation team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, participated and addressed a two-day virtual seminar on the role and involvement of women in the Afghanistan peace process, hosted by the Nordic Women Mediators Network (NWM).
Ms. Mette Knudsen, ambassador of Denmark to Afghanistan, said at the beginning of the meeting: "Despite the escalation of violence in Afghanistan, peace negotiations are a good opportunity to resolve this crisis, and in this opportunity, it is necessary to discuss the role of women and the need for their presence in the peace process, and how to support them globally."
Fawzia Koofi, member of the negotiation team, said that women are not only victims of the ongoing war, but also lost their closest family members in this war. Therefore, the role of women is very important not only in protecting their rights, but also in all matters of the peace process.
She added that women's priorities for a prosperous life include education, political, economic and social engagement, and access to justice and respect.
Fatima Gailani, member of the negotiation team, spoke about the importance of the role and support of regional and neighboring countries in the Afghanistan peace process, and said that peace in Afghanistan plays an important role in world stability and peace.
She also presented information on the place of Islamic values and Islamic law in the system of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, especially in its Constitution.
Sharifa Zurmati Wardak, another member of the negotiation team, also spoke about how to protect women's rights in post-peace enforcement mechanisms in Afghanistan.
This two-day seminar was attended by ambassadors and diplomatic representatives, and mainly European women's rights activists. Various dimensions of UNSCR 1325 in the Afghanistan peace process and women's involvement in the peace process, as well as the role of international actors in 2021, were discussed in the seminar.