Today the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament decided to nominate a collective of 11 Afghan women* for the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. They are women activists, politicians, journalists and teachers who have been fighting for women’s rights, including in the fields of education and political participation, and were themselves part of the political and associative life in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized the control.
The S&Ds call on all other political groups in the European Parliament to unite behind this nomination. We must use all possible means to put the issue of Afghan women and girls high on the international agenda, to protect their rights and to protect the gains that were made for Afghan women in the last 20 years.
S&D President Iratxe García Pérez said:
“We are firmly convinced that this year’s Sakharov Prize should honour the Afghan women who have been bravely fighting for equality and full enjoyment of human and fundamental rights, including promoting education and access to work and preventing gender-based violence, which includes unacceptable practices such as forced marriage.
“Our announcement today is a strong signal of support for all Afghan women, particularly affected by the Taliban’s takeover of the country and the humanitarian crisis. For the last 20 years, we have seen limited but concrete progress on women’s rights in Afghanistan. Now we are extremely worried that the Taliban, despite their promises, will reintroduce many of the oppressive rules we saw under their regime in the 1990s, when girls were barred from schools and women were prisoners in their own homes.
“We must make sure that this is not happening. That is why the S&Ds call for a strong human rights clause - and particularly for respect for women’s rights - to be attached to EU financial assistance for the country. The international community must demand concrete commitments regarding the safety and well-being of women and girls in talks with the Taliban.”
*Note to the editors
The 11 nominated Afghan Women are:
Shaharzad Akbar is the Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). She served as Deputy National Security Council on Peace and Civilian Protection and as Senior Advisor to the Afghan President on High Development Councils. Prior to this, she was Country Director for Open Society Afghanistan, a non-profit that supports Afghan civil society and media in peacebuilding, human rights and promoting tolerance.
Sima Samar is a human rights advocate, former Minister of Women’s Affairs, and former Chair of Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.. She is a member of the High-Level Panel of UNSG on IDPs. In 2012, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her longstanding and courageous dedication to human rights, especially the rights of women, in one of the most complex and dangerous regions in the world."
Metra Mehran is a young social entrepreneur and co-founder of the Feminine Perspectives Movement. Metra Mehran is a human rights activist. She is a Fulbright scholar, currently working with Women Scholarship Endowment Program- provides scholarships for women to pursue their education in STEM majors. She co-founded the Feminine Perspectives Movement ahead of Intra-Afghan peace negotiations. The aim is to provide a platform for women across Afghanistan to raise their voices to protect their fundamental rights and ensure women's perspectives are reflected in peace negotiation processes. A leading voice in education and women empowerment, she writes opinion pieces for local and international outlets. She previously worked with UNDP, World Bank, and DFID.
Mary Akrami She is the head of the Afghan Women's Network. She took part as a young female delegate to the Bonn conference 20 years ago, and since then, she has championed women's rights politically and practically; for example, she established the first women shelters in Afghanistan.
Palwasha Hassan She is the director of AWEC (Afghan Women Educational Centre), a longtime activist, and a consensus-builder. She has more than 15 years of experience in women’s development and empowerment projects and is the founding member of many existing networks and women and human rights groups in Afghanistan.
Freshta Karim. She was only 23 when she launched a mobile library on a bus that tours the countryside. She is an example of one of the Afghan women who went back to help Afghanistan after studying abroad (from a master's degree in Oxford University). It also shows the importance of both educational access and quality learning, and the connection between education and the future of Afghanistan.
Horia Mosadiq. She had to leave the country because of her activism but she has continued to work for human rights and women's rights from the outside, with frequent missions in the country.
Habiba Sarab is a Member of the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Ms Sarabi worked as a women's rights activist and education activist, training girls and immigrant women in Pakistani camps. She was Minister of Women's Affairs from 2002 to 2004, and in 2005 she was appointed as the first female governor in Bamyan province.
Zarifa Ghafari is the mayor of the town of Maidan Shar since 2018. As such, she was the first woman mayor of the very conservative province of Wardak. She received the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award in 2020 for staying in office despite death threats, and has become a symbol of women's political rights, which she also actively promotes (before becoming mayor, she launched a women-focused radio station). In November 2020, her father was killed by the Taliban. She arrived in August in Germany where she continues her fight for human rights in Afghanistan and in particular the rights of women in Afghanistan.
Anisa Shaheed risks her life dedicated to dangerous reporting in the field, covering stories on human rights, security and the country´s political situation.. She grew up in the years of the first Taliban regime, massively curtailing the professional and educational opportunities particularly for girls and women. The ousting of the Taliban brought her the opportunity to go to school and to attend Kabul University. She began her career as a political reporter and joined TOLOnews in 2009, one of Afghanistan’s first, and today the most popular commercial TV stations. In 2020, Anisa was awarded with a prize from Reporters Without Borders as one 30 international “information heroes,” including journalists, whistle-blowers, and media outlets. In April 2021, she was selected as the “Face of Freedom of Speech” journalist of the year by Afghanistan’s Free Speech Hub network.
Sahraa Karimi, the first female president of the Afghan state film company. The director of the award-nominated film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha (2019) is the only Afghan woman to have a PhD in cinema. After fleeing Afghanistan, she continues her campaign for the protection of Afghan filmmakers and for women in general.
