United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mrs Mary Robinson today said a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan must include women and added that Asian women needed to "rock the system".
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Mrs Mary Robinson - Asian women need to "rock the system"
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The former Irish president made a strong call to end gender discrimination in Asia while accepting the Indira Gandhi Prize from Indian President K. R. Narayanan at the presidential palace for her role in promoting human rights.
"With regard to the future of Afghanistan it is crucial that strong government institutions be established with the full participation of women," Mrs Robinson said.
"They should have the capacity to promote and protect all human rights in a nondiscriminatory and effective manner," she added.
Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan were forced to quit their jobs, were denied education and were forced to adhere to a strict dress code.
Mrs Robinson also said that she was "deeply troubled" by the position of girls in modern India. She said emphasis must be placed on the importance of female literacy to empower women.
"Indeed, I believe that the single most effective way to address poverty in India would be to enable girls and women to change from being passive recipients of social equity to becoming active agents of social change," she said.
Mrs Robinson said it was important for women all over the world to participate in government.
"When I was elected president of Ireland I thanked those women who, for the first time, voted in a different way from their husbands, or simply came out and voted, and I said that instead of rocking the cradle they rocked the system," she said.
"Girls and women in India need, literally, to rock the system".
AFP