UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday said that Afghanistan is at an important crossroad and Afghan women are playing a central role in creating peaceful, inclusive communities.
Speaking at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, Mohammed said that Afghan women are calling for peace that safeguards their hard-won rights and does not backtrack on what has been achieved.
Afghan women have paid a high price during the conflict that has affected their country for most of the past four decades, said the UN deputy chief, adding that under the Taliban government, women and girls were denied access to education, health services and protection from extreme violence, and could not participate in political or public life.
Afghanistan has made great progress for women since the fall of the Taliban. Mohammed said now women are in senior roles in the defence, foreign affairs and interior ministries, and 27 percent of the civil service is female, and there are women serving as mayors and provincial governors.
In addition, more than 3 million children are back in school, with 9 out of 11 million Afghan children now enrolled.
However, the conflict continues in Afghanistan. According to the deputy secretary-general, in the first five months of this year, more than 100,000 people were displaced by conflict, and displacement increases the risk of gender-based violence.
In areas where the Taliban have reclaimed control, there are reports of honor killings, stoning and other attacks on women's rights, she said.
Therefore, peace, security and economic stability are urgently needed, she said.
For peace to be sustainable, it will take time and it must be inclusive of the whole country, of women and of victims, she added. "Building a culture of peace means addressing the violations and divisions of the past."
Mohammed said achieving Sustainable Development Goals will be essential to ensuring that women have access to education, health care and decent work, and that women are represented in all areas of society and in all political and economic decision-making processes, including in government and in peace negotiations.
According to her, the UN is considering a significant investment in preventing and ending violence against women in Afghanistan through the joint Spotlight Initiative with the European Union.
