Exclusive: Only 50 of 1000 Seats at Afghan Peace Conference Reserved for Women and Civil Society

(Kabul, Afghanistan) UN Dispatch has acquired details about the demographic composition of Afghanistan’s upcoming ‘peace jirga,’ the conference at which a strategy for ending the war and reconciling insurgent groups with the Afghan Government will be crafted.

According to a source close to the process, only 20 of approximately 1000 seats at the jirga will be reserved for women, and 30 for representatives from academia and civil society. This was information first divulged on the Twitter feed of Tom Shaw.

Afghan women were excluded from the Afghan Government’s official delegation to the January London Conference and expressed fear they and members of civil society would be sidelined again at the peace jirga.

The peace jirga will run from May 2 through May 4 in Kabul, according to UN Dispatch’s source, and the highest numbers of reserved seats will be allocated for current and former government officials at the national and provincial levels, members of core diplomatic missions, Afghan refugee communities in Pakistan and Iran, and religious leaders.

The selection process for many of representatives, including the delegates who will fill the twenty seats reserved for women, is unclear as of yet.

Image: Flickr (ISAF Media)