Petition to Hillary Clinton and the US Delegation to the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan: Support the demands of Afghan Women The US began the war in Afghanistan with lofty statements about ensuring women’s human rights. More recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to abandon Afghan women. Citizens of the US therefore have a special responsibility to make sure the end of the war does not leave Afghan women, gays, and religious minorities once more in the power of war criminals and armed religious fanatics. There can be no peace and stability in the region if more than half the population must live in a state of fear. Now that women have finally been included in the Afghan delegation to the Bonn conference December 5, we call upon the Obama Administration to ensure that women’s voices are heard; to support the demands of Afghan women for a demilitarized peace process shaped by civil society; and to guarantee the security of women activists. 

Meredith Tax, US Director, Centre for Secular Space 
Ariane Brunet, Cofounder, Urgent Action Fund 
Anissa Helie, John Jay College, CUNY 
Charlotte Bunch, Founding director, Center for Women's Global Leadership 
Frances Kissling, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania 
Mahnaz Afkhami, President, Women’s Learning Partnership 
Gita Sahgal, Director, Centre for Secular Space 
Manizha Naderi, Director, Women for Afghan Women

AWID, Association for Women's RIghts in Development 

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