CommentsGUEST COMMENTARY - On Thursday, March 31, 2022 an American Women’s Peace and Education Delegation visiting Kabul for the past week held a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel to report on their findings.
Delegation members spoke of their efforts to unfreeze Afghan Central Bank funds and of the overwhelming support they heard for all Afghan girls to have access to education.
“While the world's attention has turned to the crisis in Ukraine, we felt it was critical to bring attention to the continued plight of the Afghan people,” explained Masuda Sultan, an Afghan-American who organized the delegation of prominent women, and is a cofounder of the U.S. group Unfreeze Afghanistan.
The group planned their travel to coincide with the week the government had announced they would be opening all schools to girls, and were disappointed when the government did not allow girls from 7th-10th grade to return to school. They met with affected girls, parents, and teachers who shared their thoughts.
“We met with girls this week whose schooling was cut off in the middle of exams, girls who reported being depressed at the loss of their education,” explained Ruth Messinger, a Jewish American human rights advocate. “One young woman said her goal was to help build a strong country at peace where everyone could learn. What a simple and powerful vision.”
Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, Executive Director of the Interfaith Center of NY, speaking of the girls, said:. “Whether they were bringing books to their neighbors or staying up late to study at home, their thirst for knowledge is Afghanistan’s great gift. These students will be the country’s next generation of doctors, midwives and professors, but only if they get access to ALL levels of schooling.”
When the delegation met with the Ministry of Education they were told “Girls until sixth class can attend classes and schools, and for the rest, we are working on a plan. After permission of the Amir (the leader), we will allow them to come back to schools.”
According to the Ministry of Education, 10,000,000 students are now in schools with 242,000 teachers. The ministry said that some girls’ high schools are operating in Mazar, Herat and Badakshan. The delegation urged more specificity and more rapid action.
Daisy Khan, founder Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality and an Islamic scholar, approached the issue of girls’ education from an Islamic viewpoint. “Today in Afghanistan, many policy discussions are being articulated in the framework of Islam. Throughout our visit, I talked to government officials and NGOs about the great emphasis Islam places on the the pursuit of knowledge and how the rights of women and girls are protected by the Quran and the Prophet’s teachings.”
“All week we have been listening to disheartened Afghan girls whose dreams have been put on hold,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the women’s peace organization CODEPINK. “As women, we cannot stand by quietly while Afghan girls are barred from schools, or while our government freezes billions of dollars that could—and should—be used to feed and care for hungry Afghan children.”
The delegation met with officials of the Central Bank to learn more about the effects of the frozen Afghan Central Bank (DAB) funds on the country’s economy. More than $7 billion dollars of DAB funds are held by the U.S. and more than $2.5 billion are in European banks.
“It is clear from what we saw and heard this week that Afghanistan needs its central bank funds returned as soon as possible to shore up the banking system and help fuel the economy,” explained Kelly Campbell, co-founder of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. “The Afghan Central Bank money does not belong to 9/11 families or to the Taliban. The money belongs to the people of Afghanistan. I am here to say to Afghans that you are not alone, there are many in the US who want you to have your funds back, and we will keep struggling alongside you to achieve this goal.”
The nation’s central bank reserves are being withheld at a devastating time when Afghanistan has experienced a 40% drop in GDP, worse and faster than the Great Depression in the US.
“We must remember that this money belongs to no one but the Afghan people, and even the Taliban have said this,” asserted Masuda Sultan. “They must get their money back for currency reserves and liquidity for the banking system, something the US helped build here.”
“The Afghan people did nothing to deserve the devastating hunger, joblessness and poverty that is resulting from the sanctions on their country,” said Sunita Viswanath, co-founder of Women for Afghan Women and Hindus for Human Rights. “The only moral and ethical thing for the American government to do is to unfreeze the assets of the Afghan people.”
The delegates have deep ties to Afghanistan, and several of them are faith leaders. Many members of the group are involved with Unfreeze Afghanistan, an organization committed to releasing aid to the country and central reserves back to the Afghan Central Bank (DAB).
The delegates have visited local NGOs, a clinic, an orphanage, a shelter and schools; met with various local leaders and advocated for expanding education for all girls and for additional humanitarian aid dollars to be made available in a country with severe unmet needs. They have met with government officials and Central Bank representatives to advance their causes.
(Medea Benjamin is the cofounder of the foreign policy advocacy group Global Exchange, the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the advocacy organization Unfreeze Afghanistan. She has been active around Afghanistan for 20 years, including seeking compensation for Afghan war victims, raising funds for girls’ schools and advocating for an end to the U.S. military intervention.)
