On March 8, 2008, International Women's Day, Afghan Women Unite for Peace

In Kandahar province in Afghanistan, where hundreds of violent deaths have occurred so far in 2008, women are gathering for peace because they are tired of watching their family and friends killed in senseless acts of violence. These women believe only Afghans can stop the violence against other Afghans. Women in Kabul and from every Afghan province will be celebrating International Women’s Day. At these gatherings they will read a message of peace in support of the brave women of Kandahar.  

Elsewhere in the world, Bpeace (The Business Council for Peace) is mobilizing international support for the Afghan women by circulating an on-line petition, which will be presented as a display of international support to the women of Kandahar and to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and the United Nations. "It takes courage to organize this extraordinary gathering of women in Kandahar. These women are demonstrating their frustration with the ongoing violence in a visible way that has worked well for other countries and cultures," said Toni Maloney, chairperson of Bpeace. “Signing this online petition takes but a moment, but that moment has power. Thousands of signatures will send these Afghan women the additional emotional support they need to know that they do not stand alone."

The Afghan women have taken their cue from Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, two ordinary women in Ireland who, in the 1970's, grew angry because Irish were killing Irish, and went door to door and convinced women to march for peace. The two women were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for their work in establishing a grass-roots movement which gave the people of Northern Ireland a vehicle to say that they had had enough of the violence that wrecked their daily lives.

"Today we drove by the site of the third suicide bomber in three days,” says Rangina Hamidi, one of the organizers of the Kandahar gathering. “We are ready to follow in the footsteps of our Irish sisters. For the past seven years Afghans have celebrated March 8th with cheap gifts given to women to honor them. This year, the women in Kandahar loudly say the best gift for us is peace in our country."  

In Kandahar women will be wearing white scarves as a symbol of peace and declaring “we want peace now.” These women are calling on citizens from around the world to support their cause as they gather for peace on March 8th at 10 am. The women in Kandahar will sign a petition of peace to be presented to President Karzai, the United Nations and other pertinent national and international organizations in Afghanistan. Since 2001, over 5000 innocent civilian lives have been lost in Afghanistan.

For further information about the petition, and the events in Kandahar, see http://afghanwomenunite.blogspot.com. This story was distributed by WUNRN. Bpeace (Business Council for Peace) is an international network of business volunteers who help women in Afghanistan and Rwanda build sustainable businesses as a bridge to peace. Bpeace volunteers and staff are in daily contact with the Afghan businesswomen in its program who together employ 1,491 Afghans, who support more than 10,592 family members. In conflict or post-conflict regions—like Afghanistan—Bpeace identifies and assists the businesswomen most likely to succeed and, through its members' volunteer efforts, provides them with up to three years of pro-bono business consulting, industry-specific technical knowledge; training and networking opportunities; access to best practices, financing and international markets.


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