Amherd calls for women in Afghanistan to be heard at the UN
Published: Monday, Sep 23rd 2024, 21:20
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According to President Viola Amherd, real peace can only be achieved with the equal participation of women. She reiterated this on Monday at the United Nations headquarters in New York with regard to the situation in Afghanistan.
At a UN event for the inclusion of women in Afghanistan, Amherd said that just four years ago, Afghan women were involved in peace negotiations, held leadership positions and had political influence. "Today, they are no longer even allowed to decide for themselves when to go grocery shopping," said the President of the Swiss Confederation.
The Taliban's latest so-called virtue law, which prohibits women from raising their voices in public, clearly demonstrates the aim of systematically silencing women and banishing them from public life. Education, especially for girls, is not only a fundamental right, but also the key to a peaceful and prosperous future for Afghanistan, said Amherd.
Without the inclusion of women in public affairs, Afghanistan will never find its rightful place in the world, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the event co-organized by Switzerland. Discrimination and oppression of women should not be tolerated anywhere in the world.
Meryl Streep presents movie
US actress Meryl Streep presented the film "The Sharp Edge of Peace". The documentary accompanies the only women in the Afghan government's negotiating team on the difficult path to negotiating a peaceful political structure with the Taliban.
In her presentation, Streep reminded the audience that women in Switzerland only gained the right to vote in 1971, whereas they were able to vote in Afghanistan as early as 1919. The way Afghan culture and society had been turned upside down in recent years was a warning to the rest of the world.
Today, a squirrel jumping around in the park or a songbird in Afghanistan has more rights than a girl, as the Taliban have closed the parks to women and forbidden them to sing, said the actress.
Amherd recalled that Switzerland would be chairing the UN Security Council's open debate on women, peace and security in October. The discussions would focus on the role of women in peacebuilding and mediation.
©Keystone/SDA
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