Panel Discussion on Afghanistan at the Canadian Federation of University Women’s Annual General Meeting
Dr. Samar, Chair of Afghanistan Independent
Rights Commission
Government of Canada representatives participated in a panel discussion at the Canadian Federation of University Women’s (CFUW) annual general meeting from July 15 to 18 in Ottawa With an interest to learn more about Canada’s role in Afghanistan and a theme of “Women Helping Women in Canada and the World,” CFUW organized an event with the idea of sharing, with their members, different perspectives of people working in Afghanistan.
There are many Canadians from very different walks of life who live, work or support the work to help Afghanistan rebuild. Given the number of organizations, government and non-government, young and experienced, with perspectives to share about Canada’s support for Afghanistan domestically and internationally, it was no simple task to collect people who could portray this spectrum of experience at a conference in Ottawa in July. Congratulations to the CFUW members who were able to organize this event and share with their members views of Canadian efforts in Afghanistan.
With a mandate to advocate for the equality of women and girls, CFUW is a voluntary organization with clubs in different areas across Canada. True to their goals and in keeping with the theme of their conference, much of the event was organized around a special guest, Dr. Sima Samar, who travelled from Afghanistan for the conference. Dr. Samar, Chair of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, dedicated to fighting for women’s rights in Afghanistan, was the perfect guest to paint a picture of life for women and girls in Afghanistan, talking about the gains that have been made and the challenges that exist.
Dr. Sima Samar participated in a panel discussion concerning the successes, barriers and challenges facing Afghan women in the areas of education, health, governance and economic growth. According to Dr. Samar, education and access to proper health care are two of the most important issues facing Afghan women; in particular, education is essential to change the mentality of a society. She went on to say that women need to have access to health care and education and most importantly family planning. Afghan women must have the right to control their own bodies before any other changes or progress can be made with regards to education and healthcare. Dr. Samar was also the featured speaker at the final gala dinner. Her final remarks stressed the importance for Canadians and Afghans to work together towards a future of equality for all in Afghanistan.
A welcome contrast to some of these hardships was the perspective of 13-year-old Alaina Podmorow from Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, who has the freedom and the determination to raise money and awareness in Canada and to help young girls in Afghanistan go to school. While Alaina introduced Dr. Samar and shared some of her experiences with her organization, other representatives from non-government organizations, including CARE, Peace Dividend Trust as well as Rights and Democracy participated in a panel discussing some of their work in Afghanistan.
Adding a dialogue about the role of diplomacy, security and development in the context of Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan completed the picture for the audience. Hearing from Kerry Buck, Assistant Deputy Minister, Afghanistan Task Force (DFAIT); Brigadier-General Thompson, former head of command of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan (DND) and Hau Sing Tse, Senior Vice-President, Geographic Programs (CIDA), these senior government officials spoke of the role of each of their departments and talked about interconnectivity of Canada’s whole-of-government approach.
Considering that we live in a hectic world and we are challenged most days to coordinate even our personal and professional schedules, it was impressive and encouraging that those attending the CFUW annual general meeting took the time to hear so many parts of the story of Canada’s Afghanistan journey.
