Euro-Afghan coalition for democracy and secularism

CISDA has decided to respond to the appeal of the secular and democratic Afghan forces – RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan) and Hambastagi (Solidarity Party of Afghanistan) and to create an alliance between these and the European Associations and Networks which, although acting in specific areas, such as disarmament, peace and anti-militarism, gender equality, migration issue, exit from NATO, identify common grounds for action to promote real democracy both in Afghanistan, Italy and Europe.

What CISDA did

After the Taliban took power in mid-August 2021, we aggregated many Italian squares around the slogan Afghan lives matter – Every life matters with flash mobs and in-person events in numerous cities on 11 and 25 September, and we started the process of building the Euro-Afghan Coalition Stand Up With Afghan Women! through the first national meetings.

Between September and December 2021, CISDA created or participated in around 150 initiatives in many Italian cities, responding to the request of local organizations and sending its activists in person or remotely. There are also various initiatives carried out in schools. Requests for participation continue to arrive despite there being a decline in media attention: a sign that civil society is very vital and determined to continue the mobilization.

On an institutional level, CISDA was invited to the following parliamentary hearings:

• III Permanent Commission/Committee for Human Rights in the world – Chamber (21/09/2021). Fact-finding survey on Italy’s commitment to the international community for the promotion and protection of human rights and against discrimination. RAWA was invited to participate together with CISDA.

• III Commission (Foreign Affairs and Migration) and IV Commission (Defense) – Senate of the Republic (international intervention in Afghanistan 09/11/2021). Together with CISDA, Prof A. Giustozzi of King’s College London was invited to participate.

Objective of the Euro-Afghan Coalition Network

The objective of the Coalition network is to support the resistance of democratic associations in Afghanistan by acting in a coordinated manner among all the organizations belonging to the Coalition and in collaboration with other civil society networks.

The Coalition promotes campaigns based on specific appeals that start from the points of the platform as a tool to reach political decision makers in mutual support for the promotion of campaigns and mobilizations.

What is the Coalition? Political platform

The secular and democratic Afghan forces ask Western civil society for two things: to support the self-determination of the Afghan people since democracy cannot be imposed on them from the outside, and to create a large network of support for their resistance in Europe.

Download the complete political platform of the Coalition for democracy and secularism in the EU and Afghanistan where the principles around which the Coalition was formed are reported in detail.

The campaigns and actions promoted or supported by the Euro-Afghan Coalition

Being an active part of the Euro-Afghan coalition network also means acting with a view to mutual support to bring the campaigns and actions promoted or adopted by Stand Up With Afghan Women to a successful conclusion! or launched by partner organizations in our common network.

How to join the Euro-Afghan Coalition

For information on the campaigns launched or supported by the Euro-Afghan coalition network and to join the Coalition, write to cisdaets@cisda.it.