8 th Conference Report (29 th 30th September 2014) Baghlan Province Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU) &Twan Media

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1 Afghanistan Forum Public Affairs Section The United States Embassy Kabul Award Number: SAF20014CA004-A001 8 th Conference Report (29 th 30th September 2014) Baghlan Province Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU) &Twan Media Kanishka Nawabi kanishka.nawabi@cpau.org.af Phone Number: +93(0)

2 This report outlines the eighth conference of the Afghanistan Forum: Promoting Tolerance through Dialogue. This two-day conference was conducted on 29 th and 30 th September Under the program funded by the US Embassy of Afghanistan, forty-nine conferences in similar format will be conducted throughout the country. The Conference had followed a similar format as those conferences previously conducted in different parts of Afghanistan. Minor amendments on the arrangement were included so as the fit into the local context and recent development of Baghlan Province. The topic of this conference was Civil and Citizen Rights in Afghanistan. On the second day of the conference, Dr Nuha, Islamic scholar and Lecturer of International University of Africa was invited to present on the topic. Civil rights are commonly viewed as the rights guaranteed to citizens by both legislation and the Constitution. Broadly speaking, civil rights protected by the Constitution usually include freedom of speech, press and assembly, and the right to vote and stand for elections. Dr Nuha had covered abovementioned civil rights in her presentation which is reported under Day 2 30 September 2014 of this report. The Eighth Conference of Afghanistan Forum A total number of 400 participants from different governmental organizations, CSOs, Elders, education sector, Provincial Council and Islamic scholars from the Baghlan Province had participated in the conference. With the generous support also full dedication of Islamic scholars, officers of Baghlan Province Government, Dr Nuha - Islamic scholar and university lecturer, and CPAU staff, this meaningful and constructive conference was managed to take place in Baghlan Province. The active involvement of various Islamic scholars and officials contributed to the establishment of knowledge and information sharing. In addition, the participation of community elders facilitated the advocacy of peace and solidarity in Baghlan Province where is considered as the relatively peaceful provinces in northern Afghanistan, however, at least 2 explosions and military attacks was recorded on the weeks before the conference. Photo 1 Female Participants of the Conference 1

3 Day 1 29 September 2014 On 29 September 2014, the conference was inaugurated in Bagh-e-Zanana (Ladies Garden) of Baghlan Province. After the registration of participant was completed, recitation of the holy Quran was followed by. The conference was inaugurated by Mr Qazi Lodin, the Program Officer of CPAU in Baghlan Province. Mr Lodin provided a brief and precise presentation on the rights and responsibilities of citizen, with reference to Afghan and local context. In brief, the following aspects of rights of citizen were discussed and covered extensively during the conference. 1. Civil Rights of Citizen - Freedom of Speech; Freedom of Religion; and Private Property Rights. 2. Political Rights of Citizen - Active participation in the political process; Right to vote, to stand for election and to join political parties; and active participation in terms of decision on behalf of country. Photo 2 Inauguration of the Conference 3. Social Rights of Citizen Equal access to social services like health care, education, labour market, and protection. In addition, Mr Qazi Lodin had given a brief overview on CPAU activities in Afghanistan as well as introduced the aims of the conference. He had provided a brief presentation on the mandate, scope and area of work, and achievement of CPAU to all participants. Brief question and answer session was included, in order to encourage interaction and provide an opportunity for participants to have a better understanding on CPAU. Project information, its aims and proposed activities, and expect outcomes of the forum were also clearly presented to all participants. CPAU was fully aware of the importance for sharing the achievements made in previous forums. In general, participants had shown their interest in the content presented. The Use of Multimedia Video To arouse participants interest and present the idea of the conference in digital format, a 5- minutes video clip was produced by Twan Media. The video clip presented a basic overview on Civil and Citizen Rights from the perspective of Islam. The video clip pointed out the inadequacy of comprehensive information about civil and citizen rights among citizens in Afghanistan. 2

4 Ms Khadija Yaqin, Director of Women Affairs Department in Baghlan Province appreciated the organization of the conferences which provided an opportunity for the community to acquire new knowledge on civil and political rights. She stressed that understanding of the rights every citizen entitled is a very important issue in every aspects of human life. She reminded participants that Islam is a religion which explains cooperation in various ways, and stressed the cooperation on political and social development as well as culture and education. Photo 3 Speech delivered by Ms Khadija Photo 4 Female Participants MsNooriaHamdi, member of Baghlan Provincial Council and civil society activists had presented a set of comprehensive information on the responsibilities of every citizen. She had opened the floor of discussion and constructive dialogue on rights and responsibilities of citizens, in particular for female in Afghanistan. Ms Shamsia, Lecturer of Baghlan School was the last presenter of the first day of Conference. In her presentation, the role of women and mother in reforming society and community were discussed. She emphasised the role of mother, in particular as the first and last also an influential educator for her children. She said, in order to build an active and conducive social environment, the realization of the rights of citizen which can Photo 5 Ms Shamsia be started from family, is essential. She further stressed the role of mother, in both family and society, as the key person in raising a generation who can build the society and the role model in promising and harmonious society. 3

5 Day 2 30 September 2014 The second day of the conference was started with a brief recap of discussion made on the previous day, then followed by a series of group work and keynote speech. Group Work To facilitate discussion, participants were divided into small groups which comprised of participants from different fields. Participants were encouraged to share their concerns, experience, questions, and recommendation. After discussion, group members were invited to share the group view to the panel. Questions raised by groups were all answered by the panel. Photo 6 Participant presents the discussion outcome This group work was designed not only intended to make the conference interactive, but also to cultivate the space for sharing and mutual learning. Keynote Speaker Dr Nuha Dr Nuha, university professor from Jordan was invited to the conference to share her view, knowledge and work experience on the subject of the conference. During her presentation, Dr Nuha made frequent references to the Quran and various Islamic teaching. The first part of her presentation was on social justice. She started the discussion on just and unjust, then with reference to the context of Afghanistan, she brought up the issue of just war. She said, the shari'a law may guide us to decide whether a war is just or unjust, whether taking the life of other is justified or not; and whether a person is a rebel or not and who can be sentenced to death as a punishment. After the sharing on social justice, she moved the presentation to private property rights. Her key message was do not devour the others wealth by false and illegal means, in her exact wordings. She reminded participants that the Quran clearly stated that taking away people's possessions or property is completely prohibited. In addition, she talked about the importance of citizens exercising their rights to protect their honour. She summarized and told participants that (i) You, who believe, do not let 4

6 people make fun on the other ; (ii) not to defame the other; (iii ) not to call someone s nickname which may cause insult; and (iv) not to gossip. 5

7 Participants Feedback on the Conference: The conference was concluded with feedback and recommendation given by participants. Participants expressed their appreciation to the conference and considered it as a unique initiative. Suggested by participants, similar activities should be conducted in the future and they are more willing to provide support. It was further added that, the conference was the only opportunity, so far, which allow them to raise their concern and challenges faced, and also to acquire new knowledge which is vital and important to the growth of the community. Participants had also highlighted the benefit of inviting an Islamic scholar, particularly female, from other region to join the conference. It broadened their horizon and equipped them new knowledge. After the formal closing of the conference, individual interview has been conducted with several participants. All respondents urged the continuation of such conference and some suggested that they may need some extra support before managing to take a step forward on issues introduced in this two-day conference. Photo 7 Participants were being interviewed Most of the participants seem very positive about the conference. Participants were convinced about the positive changes that the conference may bring, especially on how to change the perceptions on civil and citizen rights. Ms Shamsia said that issues being discussed and presented during the conference were important and had to be spread to every member of the community. 6

8 Media Engagement: The Conference was covered by twelve media outlets in total, including local and national media. The list of media are as follows: TV Stations 1. Afghan TV 2. National TV 3. Tanwir TV 4. Ariana TV 5. AMC1 TV 6. 1 TV Radio Station 1. Salam Watandar Radio 2. Radio Adib 3. Tarajmeer Radio 4. Radio Shamal 5. Radio Farda 6. Radio Arzo Under the Afghanistan Forum Programme, Islamic scholars are invited across the world. Their knowledge and experience, also their diversified understanding on Afghanistan enhanced the fruitfulness of the Conference. CPAU aimed at further maximizing the potential benefits brought by the invited scholars through active media engagement which allows scholars not only share their knowledge with conference participants, but a wider public. Media engagement is considered as a mutual learning process, invited Islamic scholars were offered the opportunity to garner knowledge on the ground of Afghanistan. As aforementioned, the eighth conference of Afghanistan Forum was covered by media in different formats. In particular, (i) National TV, (ii) AMC1 TV, and (iii) Tan wir TV had produced a detailed and comprehensive coverage of the conference. 7

9 Annex 1 - List of Speakers Name Occupation 1 Ms. Khadija Yaqin Director of Women Affairs Department in Baghlan 2 Ms. Nooria Hamidi Member of Provincial Council in Baghlan Province 3 Ms. Shamsia Moienzai Teacher of Baghlan Daral-Quran 4 Ms. AndaishaMashal Legal Advisor of Women Affairs Department 5 Ms. Wahida Jilani Director of Justice Support in Baghlan Province 6 Ms. Gitaa Sahar University Student in Baghlan Province 7 Dr. Nuha The guest speaker from Jordon 8 Subhanallah Qazi Lodin Senior Program officer of CPAU 8