Afghanistan committee  We will find ways. We have to find ways.

Afghanistan committee  For me, there would be two number one priorities. One is to actually put a quota for 50% women applicants—for women leaders and young women—within the 40,000 allocations you have. The second top priority is that Canada needs to appoint a female envoy for Afghanistan whom we can t

Afghanistan committee  Thank you. This is a point that I'm working on every day. We have 40 million Afghans left behind, and all of them will not be evacuated, so we need to find ways to help them. One of those is that Canada needs to have a plan on how to engage with Afghanistan. One is of course the

Afghanistan committee  Because I work with so many women on the ground and I see that millions of Afghans are actually starving, it is my continued advocacy that we need to engage with the Taliban, but that does not mean recognition. There is a need for tight criteria attached to our engagement. That

Afghanistan committee  Yes, there is. You need to work with third parties and other women's organizations that have actually started working—

Afghanistan committee  Yes, absolutely. If, for example, they are given a travel authorization.... Many of my colleagues received travel authorizations during the August evacuation. If that could be provided, or temporary permits, they will arrange somehow, with all the risks, to go, or maybe even to

Afghanistan committee  On the daily reports, I actually collect a lot of reports that I share with the UN Security Council and members of the government in Canada. What you hear in the media, the restrictions.... Women have been literally banned from the public, so you do not see women in government an

Afghanistan committee  The vulnerability of each group is different. For example, we have young women in all sectors: women in sports, women in business, women in media. Young women should be a category that is provided priority for visas, as well as women-led households, families with older women who

Afghanistan committee  The challenge of going to another country still applies to them as well, because they cannot travel on their own or, for example, if they do not have a visa arranged. Engaging Qatar or Pakistan politically is so important to get these women out.

Afghanistan committee  Thank you. I very much think you are also talking about the war widows. We have two million of these women who are living in different parts of the country and do not have any male members of the family, because they have lost them to the war. They literally do not have any mean

Afghanistan committee  I think there are a lot of operational-level challenges too, with a lack of systems to respond to people. At the same time, the third country phenomenon has been very difficult for us Afghans. Right now, my colleague has travel authorization to travel to Canada, but they do not h

Afghanistan committee  Thank you. I'm honoured to be part of this hearing, and I look forward to sharing my perspective from Afghanistan on what we have been going through. I want to start with a small story from my experience. I work with a group of 200 women on a daily basis in Afghanistan. These a