Statement made on 27 October 2009 by Senator Sharon Carstairs (retired)
Hon. Sharon Carstairs:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Last week, I was in Geneva chairing the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. Once again, Afghanistan was identified as limiting the ability of parliamentarians to function appropriately, in particular with regard to female parliamentarians.
Malalai Joya was suspended from the Afghanistan Parliament on May 21, 2007 for something that she said, not in Parliament, but on a television station. She remains suspended, and it appears that she will not be reinstated prior to the election in the spring of 2010.
Can the minister tell this chamber what intervention this government has made on behalf of Ms. Joya to ensure that democracy and the rights of women — the essence of our mission in Afghanistan — are addressed?
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