The Future for Peace in Afghanistan is Much Brighter

Afghanistan, a nation that has seen so much, has borne a great deal in recent months. Pilots assassinated. Midwives attacked. Journalists blown up. Young people murdered while trying to study. And today, more tears, as 20 people were killed in a suicide attack. They were murdered while watching a wrestling match. And, not long afterward, journalists reporting on the incident were killed in a second, back-to-back attack.

The senseless carnage comes as leaders from the United States and Afghanistan say enough is enough. They are pointing toward those they claim are backing the Taliban as they seek to bring an end to three decades of fighting in Afghanistan. "It is time for this war in Afghanistan to end," said US Gen. John Nicholson in his last speech as commander of US military in Afghanistan this past week. "President [Ashraf] Ghani's courageous decision to announce a ceasefire [between the Afghan government and the Taliban] over Eid al-Fitr unleashed a strong call in the Afghan people for peace." [...]

Women are at the center of that push for an Afghanistan whose future looks different from its past -- one that holds those backing the Taliban accountable, while charting a way ahead that includes the entire population, not just half. Recently, female activists spent days poring over a letter they wrote that urges the United Nations to take an active role in stopping the violence. They also asked the UN to investigate those who are funding the violence that the Taliban continues to perpetuate.

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