Day: February 27, 2014
Yes, Virginia, there is civil society in Afghanistan
The Woodrow Wilson Center Tuesday discussed “Civil Society in Afghanistan: Spark or Stumbling Block for Stability.” Four panelists provided an optimistic portrait of the role of Afghan civil society and its potential to improve the security and stability of Afghanistan.
Clare Lockhart, the co-founder and director of the Institute for State Effectiveness, stressed the importance of balancing the roles of the state, the market and the citizenry to build stability and security. She cautioned against what she sees as one of the biggest mistakes that Western countries make when engaging in post-war reconstruction – failing to recognize that civil society already exists. It may need reinvigoration and strengthening, but its history must not be ignored. Foreign aid and Western NGOs are not the same thing as civil society, which must come from the citizenry itself through local efforts such as religious organizations, youth groups, and political groups. Ms. Lockhart identified the National Solidarity Program as the best example of development that truly rested in and on civil society by providing grants to villages for the development of local councils. Today, there are more than 31,000 local village councils. Read more
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The difference women make
Tuesday morning the National Democratic Institute and Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Insitution co-hosted a discussion with members of parliament from Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The panelists were Rabia Najlaoui, the youngest member of the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly; Fatiha Mouknii, Moroccan Member of Parliament representing the Istiqlal party; Moussa Faraj, member of the Libyan General National Congress; and Reem Abu Dalbouh, Member of Jordanian Parliament. Tamara Cofman Wittes, Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, moderated the discussion.
Rabia Najlaoui (Tunisia): The Arab Spring made it clear that women are not passive victims. They are protestors, journalists, and activists. Women played a critical role in the revolution. But soon after they were marginalized. April 2011 saw the enforcement of the zipper rule requiring that names on ballots alternate by gender. 94% of electoral lists listed a man first. Read more
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