With an International Donor's Conference being held in Paris next week on Afghanistan's behalf, increasing pressure is being put on President Karzai's ability to run the still unstable nation's government. The donor's aid is expected to target the sector's of agriculture, energy, security and education, but a number of them are demanding that the conference also be used for a critical review of the government's performance, in particular its failure to curb rampant corruption. The New York Times has reported that several world diplomats feel that Karzai is not doing enough to heed corruption, standing down to warlords controlling the nation's narcotics trade, and simply not providing an effective governance as many of these donor nations are losing lives and spending billions. The fact that Karzai is up for reelection this year does not seem to be helping the situation as his campaign stance, has at times contradicted the desires of foreign donors and US/NATO policy.
The Bush administration has been a strong backer of Karzai and this continues to be true as First Lady Laura Bush visited the nation for the third time and backed Karzai's government by publicly meeting with him and voicing the conference donor's to give the nation what it needs. As on her two previous visits to Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush emphasized her support for women's development and educational and training projects. She flew to Bamian, one of the country's poorest provinces, which is overseen by Afghanistan's only female governor, Habiba Sarabi, a former minister of women's affairs. Mrs. Bush also met with several students and teachers.
In a connected story, the US State Department is promoting the success of the US-Afghan Women's Council, which was created in 2002. The purpose of the Council is stated;
The Council promotes public-private partnerships between U.S. and Afghan institutions and mobilizes private sector resources to help Afghan women. Specifically, the Council seeks to identify concrete actions to bring real and practical benefits to the women of Afghanistan and to enable them to participate and take leadership roles in the political and economic life of their country. To this end, the Council focuses on four areas: political leadership and legal awareness, economic empowerment, education, and health. In 2006, it added a special children's initiative, Ayenda. The Council alternates regular meetings between Kabul and Washington, DC to discuss programs and priorities for assisting Afghan women and to review progress. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky co-chairs the Council with the Afghan Foreign Minister and the Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs.
The recent report acknowledges the Council's work in education (Women's Teacher Training Institute, American University in Kabul, Women's Resource Centers), Media (PBS Afghanistan Unveiled), and other education and Health initiatives and programs.
Afghanistan's future as a free, stable, and democratic government is still deeply in doubt, as Karzai's weakness and international donor weariness signify, but progress has been made that cannot be ignored. In a nation, where women were not even allowed to go near a school and a place where very few children were also given a decent education, progress has been made. In another position, I have done extensive terrorism research in Afghanistan and constantly reported on attacks on educational and women's targets in the nation since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. These attacks only strengthen my resolve that these programs like the Women's Council are vitally important to not only each individual Afghan child and women, but to the nation's future as a whole.
