Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls: Keys to a Better Future for Afghanistan | 1st February
The advancement of women's rights is critical to political and economic progress everywhere around the world. This is especially true in Afghanistan, where women's human rights have been ignored, attacked and eroded over decades, especially under Taliban rule.
As Secretary Clinton said recently, the vast majority of Afghans want to see their daughters educated, and women given access to economic livelihoods and to healthcare. Women's empowerment is inextricably linked to security, economic opportunity, effective governance, and social development. It is a simple fact that no country can prosper if half its citizens are left behind. All reliable development indices show that investments in women are the single most effective poverty alleviation mechanism contributing to a society's prosperity; similarly, lack of investment in women characterizes failed states...
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-8275HM?OpenDocument