During the month of March, the Afghan research fellows of the RWI Afghanistan Programme have been actively engaged in various activities related to the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, as well as other academic activities linked to their research projects supported by RWI.
Highlighted activities:
Visit to Geneva by fellows Mitra Tanomand and Latifa Jafari Alavi (5-8 March): Mitra Tanomand and Latifa Jafari Alavi accompanied UNSR Richard Bennett during part of his mission to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where he participated in the 55th session of the HRC and presented his latest report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan. As part of the mission, the UNSR also undertook consultations with Afghan and international CSOs, together with his team at the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. RWI fellows participated in these meetings, presenting their research and exchanging information with the involved actors. Additional activities in Geneva with the UNSR included, among other things, fellows taking part in a side event of the 55th HRC session, with a special focus on Afghan women in sports.
RWI research fellows in Lund (2-29 March): expert roundtable and other academic activities
After the visit to Geneva, Latifa and Mitra travelled to Lund where they were joined by an additional four fellows: Haroun Rahimi, Hamid Formuli, Palwasha Mirbacha and Malia Shirzay Mohammad. In Lund, the fellows made use of resources at RWIs library, met with RWI staff, and participated in different academic activities, with the aim to further develop their ongoing research projects.
All fellows, including Humaira Rasuli and Kobra Moradi, also participated in an expert roundtable on the issue “Institutionalized System of Discrimination, Segregation, Disrespect for Human Dignity and Exclusion of Women and Girls in Afghanistan”(18-20 March), organized in Lund by the RWI Afghanistan Programme and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A wide range of Afghan and international experts participated in the roundtable, which will feed into an upcoming UNSR report to the Human Rights Council.
Participation in webinars
Haroun Rahimi also held a presentation (15 March) to RWI staff regarding the issue of the legal recognition of the Taliban de facto authorities under international law, an issue he also discussed further in a webinar (3 April) organized by the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and Rule of Law. Similarly, Humaira Rasuli participated in a webinar on Gender Based Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan (11 March), also organized by the Max Planck Foundation.
Texts published
Kobra Moradi published a text together with co-author Farkondeh Akbari on the intersection of gender and ethnicity in relation to the human rights situation of Hazara women, on International Women’s Day (8 March). Maliha Shirzay Mohammad has reflected on the situation of women and girls when it comes to education in Afghanistan, her thoughts are published on RWIs blog.
After this dynamic and active month, fellows are now focused on advancing their research and planning for upcoming academic activities, including additional engagements in Geneva, research conferences and seminars. Stay tuned for more information on these activities, as well as interviews and podcasts with fellows discussing their research interests and projects.