120 Afghan women living in Albania or part of Afghan women’s networks in different countries gathered in Tirana under the care of the Albanian government for the three-day summit “Women for Afghanistan.”

Why is this significant

The organization of this meeting serves as a platform to build unity and deliver a cohesive message, amplifying the voices of Afghan women who have left the country to escape the Taliban regime.

Context

The summit was also supported by the governments of Spain and Switzerland and is the largest gathering in the past three years of women and girls’ human rights activists from Afghanistan. In his speech, Foreign Minister Igli Hasani praised the resilience and courage of Afghan women in standing against the discriminatory measures imposed by the Taliban regime, while reiterating that Albania remains part of active international efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

In fact, Albania was one of the few countries, three years ago, following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Kabul and the establishment of the Taliban regime, to welcome and host thousands of Afghans, while many more developed countries closed their doors. Most of them have by now been resettled in other countries, mostly Canada and US, but some continue to reside in Albania.

Also present at the Tirana summit was the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, Rina Amiri, who praised Albania’s role in the fight for the protection of human rights.