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17 January 2015 The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has today welcomed a recent national conference during which local road maps for achieving sustainable, inclusive and just peace in the country were presented to participants.

The Mission said in a statement that the conference, held in Kabul on 15 January, saw presentation of 12 out of the 34 local road maps developed by Afghan civil society organizations and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), and provided an important chance for those involved to develop advocacy strategies so that provincial and national policy makers act upon their findings.

“The national conference was a unique opportunity for civil society to develop their advocacy plans to ensure that the voice of the Afghan people is heard,” said the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, promising that the United Nations would support those efforts in any way it could. “This advocacy could not be more important or timely.”

Development of the local road maps was part of the civil society-led Afghan People's Dialogue for Peace initiative, conducted over the past three years. Some 6,000 Afghans from all walks of life took part in the Dialogue, sharing their grievances and aspirations, and identifying the main drivers of conflict and proposed solutions.

Conference participants highlighted the need to strengthen security institutions, promote responsive State institutions and end corruption among the main priorities for addressing the root causes of the conflict and achieving durable peace. They also stressed the need to promote human rights and women's rights, along with the rule of law, and to tackle impunity. Illegal armed groups needed to be disarmed and employment opportunities were needed, especially for young people.

The work builds on a June 2014 report on the national findings of the second phase of the Dialogue process. The UN Mission's statement welcomed the 10-point national road map to peace contained within the June report, which calls for advocacy efforts with Governmental authorities and anti-Government elements.

“In peace and reconciliation processes, UNAMA is firm that human rights must not be sacrificed and that women must play a strong and active role in any peace negotiations - both are critical for a sustainable peace,” said Mr. Haysom. “The youth of Afghanistan are the country's future and their views must also be heard.”

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Afghanistan: UN Mission welcomes civil society efforts to promote sustainable peace

To Western eyes, the contradiction is mind-boggling.

In Afghanistan, a society in which women's lives were so constricted under the Taliban that they couldn't even walk unescorted down the street, some young girls enjoyed unprecedented freedom by posing as boys.

The tradition of bacha posh exists to this day. These girls wear male clothes, adopt boys' names, roughhouse with boys and enjoy privileges accorded to boys. What's more, they do it at the behest of their families and with the tacit consent of the entire community at least until they reach puberty, when they're expected to change back.

That gender-bending, cross-dressing tradition is at the heart of "The Pearl That Broke Its Shell," the debut novel by Nadia Hashimi, an Afghan-American, pediatrician, Maryland resident and mother of three.

"Basically every Afghan knows of a bacha posh, either within the family or within the community," Hashimi, 37, says over the phone from her home in Potomac. "Mobility-wise, a young boy has different access to the world than a young girl has. He can work outside the home."

The book weaves together two stories separated by 100 years. One plot, set in the early 20th century, tells the story of Shekiba, who becomes a pariah after suffering a disfiguring accident as a young girl. Shekiba toils as a servant until she is presented to the king, who uses women dressed as men to guard his harem.

The second story takes place in 2007, when the Taliban no longer were in power but still exerted enormous influence over the lives of women. It follows Shekiba's great-great-granddaughter, Rahima, who becomes a bacha posh so she can barter at market, attend school and perform other activities that keep her nearly all-female family afloat. But Rahima's days of freedom are numbered when the brutal warlord who runs the village takes a shine to the 13-year-old.

Hashimi will discuss bacha posh and other Afghan customs when she appears Wednesday at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. An edited conversation with the author appears below.

Where does the title come from?

The title was my agent's moment of genius. It's a line from a poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi: "Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell." I thought it was a perfect fit for a story about a girl breaking out of her shell and constraints and realizing the pearl that she is.

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Novel explores Afghanistan's gender-bending tradition

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Mick Wallace discussing the ongoing situation in Afghanistan with Minister for Defence Coveney.
Mick Wallace discussing the ongoing situation in Afghanistan with Minister for Defence Coveney.

By: Mick Wallace

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Mick Wallace discussing the ongoing situation in Afghanistan with Minister for Defence Coveney. - Video