The Amnesty International Australia Tasmania Urban Group are celebrating this Mother’s Day by raising awareness of the situation many mothers and women are currently facing in Afghanistan.
The group will be at Salamanca Market at the Amnesty Stall on Saturday 11 May from 10-12noon handing out cards and tulips in support of mothers in Afghanistan.
The cards contain a link to Amnesty’s website where people can sign a petition that calls on Australia, the international community and the Afghan Government ‘to ensure women are central to peace and reconciliation negotiations have meaningful political representation, strengthened capacity in public life and have their safety and human rights protected’.
Afghanistan is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. Girls’ schools are frequently attacked, high-profile women’s rights activists have been killed, and violence against girls and women continues to be a major problem.
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, there has been significant progress in women’s rights. But these steps forward are threatened by the current peace and reconciliation talks between the Taliban, Afghan and US governments.
This year Amnesty International is working to support the women of Afghanistan as they fight for their rights.
Yabbo Thompson
