Women for Afghan Women (www.womenforafghanwomen.org), the first grassroots organization in New York City dedicated to the rights of Afghan women, is pleased to announce its third annual conference, September 2-4, 2003. This conference is organized in partnership with Afghans for Civil Society (www.afghansforcivilsociety.org), an organization working to strengthen civil society in Kandahar.

Women for Afghan Women
Women and the Constitution: Kandahar 2003
September 2-4, 2003
A three day conference prioritizing the voices of Afghan women in crafting the new constitution of Afghanistan and looking at upcoming elections.

As of this moment, the draft of the new constitution has not been made public, but rumors abound that fundamentalists have intimidated the first committee into producing a conservative document. Women's rights must be secured by the highest law in the country. The subject of this conference is critical to the future of Afghan women.

The conference will make history, as it will be the largest independent gathering of women to date to that focuses on the constitution of Afghanistan.  Women from all over the country, at the front lines of the battle for Afghan women's rights will gather in the country's most conservative city.  Kandahar, once the former stronghold of the Taliban, is still a very dangerous place for women and westerners. Women continue to wear burqas, and few can be seen on the streets.  With no international peacekeepers and a warlord as governor, the brave women of Afghanistan will defy the tradition of this city when they gather here. 

Participants include:

*Habiba Sarabi, Minister of Women's Affairs

*Fatima Gailani, a longtime international advocate of Afghan women's rights in the Islamic context *Heads of NGO's

*Uneducated lay women

The conference will be groundbreaking in that it will bring together the most powerful Afghan women with average, illiterate women whose voices have never before been heard.

Founded in April 2001, WAW provides the platform for local Afghan women to develop programs to meet their own needs for healing and self-determination, and to participate in human rights advocacy in the international sphere.  WAW’s achievements include:

• Two annual conferences on showcasing Afghan women

• A book entitled “Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future”

• Over $70,000 raised for grassroots NGO’s run by women in Afghanistan.