The keynote speaker of the NGO forum was Dr. Sima Samar. She is chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and was invited by Cordaid. She mentioned that 15 years after Beijing we have done lots but we are still at the beginning, to achieve that women are equal to men. Most women in Afghanistan still do not have access to education, work and healthcare. Neither to justice. A good woman in Afghanistan is a woman who is not raising her voice. This definition of a good or bad woman should be changed. We have to empower the women and let them know their rights. Women movements, women freedom and women rights should be given priority by the international community and their spaces for agency and advocacy should be improved.

Lia van Broekhoven, policy advisor for Cordaid on the nexus between development, peace and security, was one of the speakers...