Published by Senator Mobina Jaffer on 10 February 2011
The Canadian combat mission in Kandahar will end in 2011, and Canada will then focus on training Afghan security forces until 2014.
This is the context in which the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights and I, as its deputy chair, examined the role that Canada should play in protecting and promoting women’s rights in Afghanistan after 2011.
The report contains many important points, but the one that I would like to highlight concerns women and security.
To ensure security and to facilitate the training of Afghan security forces, our trainers must be trained to that end.
In a non-Western context, our trainers must be able to understand the specific and salient features of Afghan society.
- The role of women in society
- Education
- The relationship between men and women
- Cultural differences
These are a few of the subjects that should be in the training regimen for our trainers. Gender-specific training remains crucial, of course.
Justice is also an important issue. In a society where specific and local codes (such as Shiite law and the judgment of elders) still prevail, compassion must be exercised and meaningful investigations conducted accordingly so that, at least in the long run, impunity is substantially eliminated.
As always, I will keep you informed about the issues important to me while asking you to share your opinions with me.
Please click here to read the Committee's report