Women, Peace and Security Program Officer Speaks with Afghan Women About the Recent Attacks on a Maternity Clinic in Kabul

The following post was written by Jennifer Bradshaw, Program Officer for Women, Peace and Security programs at the Kroc IPJ.

Over the phone last week I spoke to 2017 Women PeaceMaker Fellow Wazhma Frogh about the recent attacks on a maternity clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan. In May, attackers went through the clinic shooting nurses, mothers and newborn babies. At least 16 people were killed. As Frogh shared with me, such attacks were unprecedented, and another reminder of the backsliding of peace gains in Afghanistan over the past years.

2017 Women PeaceMakers & Women Waging Peace member Wazhma Frogh

Frogh, and Kroc IPJ’s Women Waging Peace Members Mary Akrami and Mahbouba Seraj, are working with hundreds of other Afghan women to bring an end to this violence and increase women’s inclusion in their country’s peacebuilding efforts. They are working tirelessly to bring these issues to the world stage, and to ensure the women of Afghanistan are heard.

2017 Women PeaceMakers & Women Waging Peace member Wazhma Frogh with Secretary Clinton and First Lady Obama

In their recent NPR article, We Shouldn't Have To Ask That Babies And Mothers Not Be Killed. Yet we must, Frogh, Seraj and Akrami shared:

“Since the U.S. began peace negotiations with the Taliban in February 2019, we, the women of Afghanistan have been told by leaders, political commentators and officials that we are being unrealistic. That we are too loud, too demanding and an obstacle in the path toward peace in our country. We have been told to wait and to listen to men who...What demands have we made that warrant such a response? We are asking that our children and newborn babies not be killed in their beds, in schools or in maternity wards, never once having drawn a breath in safety.”

Read more about how these Kroc IPJ Women Waging Peace members, and Afghan women, are driving forward peaceful solutions in their country through the following recent publications: NPR, TOLO News and Ms. Magazine.

If you would like to learn more about the Women, Peace & Security programs at the Kroc School's Institute for Peace and Justice and how to support its efforts to empower women peacebuilders, please contact:

jenniferbradshaw@sandiego.edu
Program Officer for Women, Peace and Security Programs